hDAF expression in hearts of transgenic pigs obtained by sperm-mediated gene transfer.

TRANSPLANTATON has been the choice option to treat successfully an increasing number of acute and chronic human pathologies with declining morbidity and mortality. However, availability of organs from human donors is limited and dramatically inadequate with respect to patient requests. Xenotransplantation from large-sized mammals has thus been reconsidered as a tool to overcome the present unbalance between organ offers and requests. Pigs have been chosen because they can be easily and cheaply bred; they do not raise ethical questions—their use as alimentary resources is generally admitted; and they possess organs largely human compatible for size, anatomical organization, and physiology. N…