Pig to human heart transplants possible within three years, leading expert says

Researchers say successful pig kidney transplants will pave way for new treatment

Benjamin Cooper

Monday 19 August 2019 12:16 BST

As pigs' heart anatomy is similar to that of humans, the animals have been used as models for developing new treatments (Getty Images)

Adapted pig hearts could be transplanted into patients within three years, according to a report citing the surgeon who pioneered heart transplantation in the UK.

Sir Terence English, speaking on the 40th anniversary of the first successful heart transplant, told The Sunday Telegraph that his protégé from that operation will try to replace a human kidney with a pig's later this year.

The 87-year-old said: "If the result of xenotransplantation is satisfactory with porcine kidneys to humans then it is likely that hearts would be used with good effects in humans within a few years.

"If it works with a kidney, it will work with a heart."

He added: "That will transform the issue."

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Show all 10

1/10Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Subarachnoid vessels

The runner-up image came from Matt MacGregor Sharp, a PhD student at the University of Southampton. The super-high resolution image shows a normal artery at the surface of a rat’s brain and was taken with a powerful scanning electron microscope. These ‘subarachnoid vessels’ supply blood to the brain and also act like a drain to remove toxic waste products. Matt Macgregor’s team are trying to show that failure to remove waste by these vessels is one of the underlying causes of vascular dementia. The researchers took the image using a technique called ‘freeze fracture’, where tissue or cell samples are frozen and then split apart to reveal the hidden layers within the sample so they can be studied in extreme detail. Sitting above the brown brain tissue, the artery appears blue, and its surrounding layer, the pia mater, is shown in purple.

Matt MacGregor Sharp, University of Southampton, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Explosive beginnings

Winner: Endothelial cells line all blood vessels in the body, forming a barrier between the circulating blood and the vessel wall. They also help to protect blood vessels from damage and release important chemical messengers which help to control blood pressure. The winning researcher, Courtney Williams, is a Masters student and PhD candidate at Leeds University. Her lab are developing new ways to map the growth of new blood vessels within their surrounding landscape in 3D. Understanding the complex secrets of blood vessel formation could be harnessed to boost the regrowth of damaged blood vessels after a heart attack, and halt blood vessel growth when it’s counterproductive.

Courtney Williams, Leeds University, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

A snapshot of platelet production - Reflections of Research Supporters’ Favourite

This image from Abdullah Obaid Khan, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham, won the supporters’ favourite. What look like precious jewels are actually platelets forming within the bone marrow. Platelets are the smallest of our circulating blood cells with a hugely important role in preventing bleeding. However, they also play a role in the formation of clots, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Abdullah Obaid Khan and his team are studying rare bleeding disorders.

Abdullah Obaid Khan, University of Birmingham, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Cardiac collagen web - Shortlist

This colourful image shows the web-like, network of the smallest blood vessels in the heart – the microvessels. Magenta marks the outer collagen layer of the vessels; while orange marks their inner lining and blue the cell nuclei. Dr Neil Dufton, Imperial College London

Dr Neil Dufton, Imperial College London, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Heart to Heart - Shortlist

This piece shows four ventricles (from a mouse) arranged into the shape of the hearts four normal chambers. The researchers have used fluorescent markers to recognise certain proteins and created the image using of hundreds of images assembled together. Dr Elisa Avolio and Dr Zexu Dang, University of Bristol

Dr Elisa Avolio and Dr Zexu Dang, University of Bristol, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Loving artery - Shortlist

This image shows a cross section of an artery and the different layers which make up the artery wall. Affiliate Professor Silvia Lacchini, University of Glasgow

Silvia Lacchini, University of Glasgow, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Oxidative inkblot - Shortlist

This colour explosion shows one of the culprits in cardiovascular disease – an enzyme called NADPH oxidase. The enzyme is considered ‘Janus faced’ because it is important in health, as well as disease. This picture shows the active enzyme in patients who have high blood pressure. Dr Livia de Lucca Camargo, University of Glasgow

Dr Livia de Lucca Camargo, University of Glasgow, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Neon skeleton - Shortlist

This image shows the developing blood vessel system of a two day old zebrafish embryo. The researchers used gene enhancers (the on-off switches of genes) to switch on fluorescent markers in different types of endothelial cells – the important cells which line all blood vessels. All blood vessels switch on the red marker, while the veins also switch on the green marker, resulting in yellow veins and red arteries. Dr Svanhild Nornes, University of Oxford

Dr Svanhild Nornes, University of Oxford, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Calcium reef - Shortlist

This image shows calcium in blood vessel cells from people who have high blood pressure and resembles Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Dr Rheure Alves-Lopes, University of Glasgow

Dr Rheure Alves-Lopes, University of Glasgow, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Under the skin – best of the British Heart Foundation 2018 image prize

Budding blood vessels - Shortlist

This image shows the growing blood vessels in the mouse retina. In red you can see all the blood vessels and in yellow/green you can see the blood vessels that are actively growing (a process called sprouting). PhD candidate Kira Chouliaras, University of Oxford

Kira Chouliaras, University of Oxford, British Heart Foundation - Reflections of Research

Pigs' heart anatomy and physiology is similar to that of humans so they are used as models for developing new treatments.

Hopes for a "holy grail" heart attack treatment were raised in May after a genetic therapy showed promise in pigs.

An international team of researchers, including UK scientists, found that delivering a small piece of genetic material called microRNA-199 into a heart damaged by an attack caused the cells to regenerate.

Myocardial infarction, which is caused by the sudden blocking of one of the cardiac coronary arteries, is the main cause of heart failure.

When a patient survives a heart attack, they are left with permanent structural damage to their heart.

An estimated 900,000 people are currently living with heart failure in the UK, while millions more have high blood pressure and both can cause heart attacks.

"A treatment that helps the heart repair itself after a heart attack is the holy grail for cardiologists," the British Heart Foundation's chairman of cardiology, Ajay Shah, told the i newspaper.

"This study convincingly demonstrates for the first time that this might actually be feasible and not just a pipe dream," he added.

Published in the journal Nature, the research saw scientists deliver microRNA-199 into pigs after a myocardial infarction.

After a month there had been "almost complete recovery" of cardiac function.

However, the scientists have to overcome some considerable obstacles before the genetic therapy can be tested on human heart attack patients.

Most of the treated pigs died following the treatment because the microRNA-199 continued to be expressed in an uncontrolled manner.

Press Association

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies