Recent advances in xenotransplantation technology as a therapeutic approach have the potential to benefit human health. Despite the greater immunological barrier,pigs are favored over primates as a source of transplant tissue for a variety of practi...
Recent advances in xenotransplantation technology as a therapeutic approach have the potential to benefit human health. Despite the greater immunological barrier,pigs are favored over primates as a source of transplant tissue for a variety of practical,ethical and safety reasons. The pigs are easy to breed and economic to produce,and the physiology and the size of porcine organs are similar to those in humans. However,It is important to recognize that xcnotransplantation may put the human community at risk. Transplantation of porcine organs to human will allow microorganism present in the donor organs to bypass the normal defense mechanism of the recipient. Through xenogeneic infection, an agent that is non cingohtap-in its natural host may become pathogenic in the recipient. The present article reviews the current knowledge regarding porcine viruses and their potential for xenogeneic transmission in humans upon xenotransplantation.