Genetically engineered donor pigs with improved pancreatic islets (B03)

• Subject Area: Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition, Animal Husbandry ; Endocrinology, Diabetology, Metabolism
• Term: from 2012 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 213602983

The goal of this project is to generate genetically multi-modified donor pigs of pancreatic islets for xenotransplantation. To overcome immune rejection, pigs that are deficient in GGTA1 and CCL2 and transgenic for LEA29Y and hPD-L1 have been generated. We plan to add an hCD47 expression vector to protect xeno-islets against human macrophages. Furthermore, a PERV-C free breeding herd with the most efficient genetic modifications will be set up to provide high-quality islets for transplantation studies in diabetic non-human primates. Available single-cell transcriptome data from different stages will be used to identify maturation-associated networks and key drivers, which may serve as markers of the maturation stage and targets for evidence-based improvements of the maturation protocol for neonatal porcine islets.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 127: Biology of Xenogeneic Cell and Organ Transplantation - From Bench to Bedside
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Project Heads: Dr. Anika Böttcher; Dr. Elisabeth Gabriele Kemter; Professor Dr. Nikolai Klymiuk; Professor Dr. Eckhard Wolf; Dr. Annegret Wünsch, until 12/2020