Journal article

Surface modification of pig endothelial cells with a branched heparin conjugate improves their compatibility with human blood

AK Bongoni, E Salvaris, S Nordling, N Klymiuk, E Wolf, DL Ayares, R Rieben, PU Magnusson, PJ Cowan

Scientific Reports | NATURE PORTFOLIO | Published : 2017

Abstract

Corline Heparin Conjugate (CHC), a compound of multiple unfractionated heparin chains, coats cells with a glycocalyx-like layer and may inhibit (xeno)transplant-associated activation of the plasma cascade systems. Here, we investigated the use of CHC to protect WT and genetically modified (GTKO.hCD46.hTBM) pig aortic endothelial cells (PAEC) in two pig-to-human in vitro xenotransplantation settings. Model 1: Incubation of untreated or hTNFα-treated PAEC with 10% human plasma induced complement C3b/c and C5b-9 deposition, cellular activation and coagulation activation in WT and GTKO.hCD46.hTBM PAEC. Coating of untreated or hTNFα-treated PAEC with CHC (100 μg/ml) protected against human plasma..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)


Awarded by Research Endowment Fund of St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne


Awarded by National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) - European Union (EU) Collaborative Research program


Awarded by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)


Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia


Funding Acknowledgements

These studies were supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (Fellowship: P2BEP3_155459), the Research Endowment Fund of St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne (REF# 70189), and the National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) - European Union (EU) Collaborative Research program (project #1074171). The authors thank Annegret Wuensch, Andrea Baehr from the Institute of Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany for providing aortic endothelial cells from genetically modified pigs. The authors also thank staff at the Immunology Research Centre (IRC), St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Australia, for technical support and advice.