UCL scientists are on the team which has just determined the first full pig genome sequence, as detailed in a recent paper in Nature.
Determining the full pig genome sequence represents a breakthrough because of the clinical implications for humans and paves the way for experimental medicine studies in the BRC.
Genome sequences provide detailed information about an individual’s make-up. Human genome sequencing is already used to detect disease-related variants, to establish the genetic basis of diseases, and to minimize the impact of disease. Patient mortality on waiting lists for transplantation is high because the number of suitable organ donors is limited. “Xenotransplantation” or the transfer of animal organs or cells into humans is one way of addressing this problem.
Bioprosthetic heart valve replacements have been carried out for decades, but xenotransplantation of solid organs has not yet progressed to clinical trials. Pigs have similarly sized organs, and physiology to humans, so knowledge of the pig genome is important for the genetic manipulation that will enable solid organ transplantation.
As well as bringing pig eye transplantation to the near future, this development will accelerate other biomedical advances such as improvement of disease “models”, to address diabetes, cystic fibrosis and blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa.
