Erschienen in:
01.02.2013 | Original Article
Improved pig donor screening including newly identified variants of porcine endogenous retrovirus-C (PERV-C)
verfasst von:
Danny Kaulitz, Debora Mihica, Cornelia Adlhoch, Marwan Semaan, Joachim Denner
Erschienen in:
Archives of Virology
|
Ausgabe 2/2013
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Abstract
Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV) are widely distributed in the genomes of pigs. PERV-A and PERV-B are present in all pigs. They infect human cells
in vitro and therefore represent a risk for xenotransplantation when pig cells, tissues or organs are used. PERV-C infects only pig cells and is not present in the genomes of all pigs. However, PERV-A/C recombinants infecting human cells and characterized by high replication titers were found in pigs. To select PERV-C-free animals that cannot generate such recombinants, PCR-based assays were developed (Kaulitz et al., J Virol Methods, 175:60,
2011). When screening for PERV-C in German wild boars (
Sus scrofa scrofa), applying these methods, a new variant of PERV-C was identified. Whereas in all 125 wild boar only the new variant of PERV-C was found, different variants were present in some landrace pigs, and most importantly, some pigs were totally free of PERV-C.