Ko Jaecheon, Lee Geon, Kim Hyun Woo, Kang Minji, Kim Hyun Je, Park Chung-Gyu
Transplantation Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Clin Transplant Res. 2025 Jun 30;39(2):97-115. doi: 10.4285/ctr.24.0065. Epub 2025 Mar 19.
Xenotransplantation, which involves the transplantation of organs, tissues, or cells from animals into humans, is emerging as a promising solution to mitigate the global shortage of human donor organs. Nonetheless, its clinical application is constrained by significant immunological and physiological barriers-most notably, the rapid rejection of xenografts by both the innate and adaptive immune systems. This review discusses critical immunological challenges such as natural antibodies, complement activation, coagulation dysregulation, and cellular immune responses mediated by T cells, macrophages, and natural killer cells. Advances in genetic engineering-such as the development of multi-knockout pigs that lack major xenoantigens and the transgenic expression of human regulatory proteins-have considerably prolonged xenograft survival in preclinical models. Moreover, approaches such as mixed hematopoietic chimerism, thymic transplantation, cell-based therapies, and synthetic particle-based delivery hold promise for inducing immune tolerance. Innovations in pharmacological immunosuppression and bioengineering, including islet encapsulation and thrombo-regulatory modifications, further enhance graft viability. While recent breakthroughs, including pig-to-human transplants, demonstrate considerable clinical potential, challenges remain in achieving long-term graft survival. This review summarizes current progress in xenotransplantation research and outlines future directions to overcome cross-species immune barriers, bringing the field closer to widespread clinical application.
异种移植是指将动物的器官、组织或细胞移植到人类体内,它正逐渐成为缓解全球人类供体器官短缺的一种有前景的解决方案。尽管如此,其临床应用受到显著的免疫和生理障碍的限制——最显著的是,先天免疫系统和适应性免疫系统都会迅速排斥异种移植物。本综述讨论了关键的免疫挑战,如天然抗体、补体激活、凝血失调以及由T细胞、巨噬细胞和自然杀伤细胞介导的细胞免疫反应。基因工程的进展——如缺乏主要异种抗原的多基因敲除猪的开发以及人类调节蛋白的转基因表达——在临床前模型中显著延长了异种移植物的存活时间。此外,混合造血嵌合体、胸腺移植、基于细胞的疗法和基于合成颗粒的递送等方法有望诱导免疫耐受。药理免疫抑制和生物工程方面的创新,包括胰岛封装和血栓调节修饰,进一步提高了移植物的存活率。虽然最近的突破,包括猪到人的移植,显示出相当大的临床潜力,但在实现移植物长期存活方面仍然存在挑战。本综述总结了异种移植研究的当前进展,并概述了克服跨物种免疫障碍的未来方向,使该领域更接近广泛的临床应用。
Clin Transplant Res. 2025-6-30
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018-2-6
Xenotransplantation. 2025
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022-5-20
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021-4-19
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012-12-12
Front Transplant. 2024-11-14
Nat Rev Immunol. 2024-5
Annu Rev Anim Biosci. 2024-2-15
Med Rev (2021). 2023-4-14