So yesterday, we discussed (disgust?) the current state of affairs of stem cell research in the USA. Such as it may be.

But, today, I am going to discuss the unintended (or is it truly the intent of these wacko folks prohibiting stem cell research in the USA) consequences of this ban.

Dr. Luhan Yang is a principal in two firms- Qihan Biotech and eGenesis.  Not surprisingly, Qihan Biotech is a Chinese venture           (Hangzhou, China), but eGenesis is based in Cambridge, MA.  (You do recall that physician, He Jiankui,  who China claims went off the reservation, and used CRISPER techniques to alter the genetics of twins in utero, right?)

And, Dr. Yang, along with his cohorts at Qihan Labs (Yanan Yue, Weihong Xu, Yixuan Zhou, Xiaobin Song, Jiajia Wu, Juan Xiong, Meng Yang, Mengyuan Xu, Qi Zhang, Yu Luo, Hongwei Dou, Lingling Song, Xueqiong Wang, Lei Le, Xin Fang,  Yangbin Gao), Marc Guell (also of both Qihan Labs but these cohorts are from his other affiliation at eGenesis-Yinan Kan, Dharmendra Goswami, Lydia Lamriben, Jacob V. Layer, Malin Li, Violette Paragas, Michele E. Youd, Haydy George, Ranjith Anand, Shi Yun Wang, William F. Westlin, Wenning Qin), folks from Yunan Agricultural University (Hong-Ye Zhao, Jianxiong Guo, Shenyi Mao, Deling Jiao, Tien Dat Nguyen, Zhuo Li, Hongjiang Wei), folks from Zhejiang University (Hong-Ye Zhao, Jianxiong Guo, Shenyi Mao, Deling Jiao, Tien Dat Nguyen, Zhuo Li, Hongjiang Wei), Dr. George Church (Harvard) and Dr. James Markmann (Mass General) published the results of their research in BioRxIv (Extensive Mammalian Germline Genome Engineering).

The research involved xenotransplantation- the transplantation of pig organs into humans.  Yes, we are short of human organs. But, the concept of modifying porcine organs- via genetic manipulation- to reduce rejection in humans leaves me cold.  Not only because these organs are not being grown in the lab- but as a manipulation of pigs, which can eventually roam free on this Earth.

I’ve already discussed how Dr. Martin Alexander (Cornell University) pitched intellectual battles with us back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  He was most worried (incorrectly) about our genetically engineered microbes that converted ammonia to nitrogenous gases. What he didn’t realize is the we engineered the microbes to die after a certain life.  (OK.  Our primary motivation was not to protect the Earth, but to ensure customers would have to keep buying our product.)  And, in that same discussion on my blog, I took issue with Dr. George Church’s other research.  (Just like I am today, about this newer work.)

Normally, xenotransplantation of porcine organs into humans manages to invoke very strong rejection reactions. Which is why this group (and two others- Lijin Zou, Nanchang University and David Cooper, Revivicor [US firm] and the University of Alabama) have elected to add human genes to the pigs- not only to make the organs more adaptable to humans, but to alleviate the rejection syndrome.

Yang’s research involved the same device you’ve heard much about (and what Jiankui used on those twins)- the CRISPR gene editor. So Qihan Bio and eGenesis have developed pigs to which they’ve added nine human genes- and deleted a slew of pig genes.  (The genes were deleted using PERV’s [I didn’t come up with this name!]- porcine endogenous retroviruses].) In vitro assays demonstrate that the organs are resistant to coagulation dysregulation, and cell-mediated damage.

It’s also clear that if PERV’s infect human cells post-transplant, the subject is highly likely to develop cancer.

But, the response of many physicians is that it’s still better than dying for lack of a transplant organ.

I beg to differ.

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