Allan JS; National Conference on Human Retroviruses and Related Infections.
Program Abstr Second Natl Conf Hum Retrovir Relat Infect Natl Conf Hum Retrovir Relat Infect 2nd 1995 Wash DC. 1995 Jan 29-Feb 2; 149.
Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, TX.
Recent advances in the basic immunology of stem cells coupled with more effective combinations of immunosuppressive agents has led to an explosion of interest in baboons as organ donors for human recipients suffering from several life threatening diseases including AIDS. Already 2 humans received baboon livers and one person received baboon bone marrow. While unsuccessful in sustaining life, these preliminary studies have rejuvenated enthusiasm for xenogeneic transplantation. In particular, it is hoped that baboon bone marrow can reconstitute the human immune system during the late stages of AIDS. Unfortunately, the implications such as infectious diseases carried by baboons have not been adequately addressed. It is known that baboons carry many pathogens that have the potential for becoming the next new "emerging" viral disease in humans. These viruses include several herpesviruses (H.papio, SA8, CMV-like), and retroviruses (SIV, STLV, foamy virus, BaEV). Most of these viruses replicate in human cells, and in some cases have been demonstrated to infect humans. In addition, these viruses are persistent infections that are very difficult to screen and completely eliminate from animal populations. Recominational events among retroviruses or herpesviruses may result in a new viral disease or at least elevated levels of certain cancers. While the risk for initiating a new pandemic is unknown, the origins of the AIDS epidemic serve to illustrate what can happen once a new virus establishes itself in humans. All of the surveillance programs combined cannot eradicate these types of viruses from the human population once they have been introduced. Furthermore, chronic infections such as Kuru, Creutsfeldt- Jacob Disease or other scrapie-like agents are a real possibility. It is hoped that greater awareness and discussion of these issues may lead to more rational approaches to these important diseases without placing the human population at a substantial yet unknown risk.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Animals
- Butterflies
- Communicable Diseases
- Herpesviridae
- Herpesvirus 6, Human
- Herpesvirus 7, Human
- Humans
- Papio
- Papio hamadryas
- Retroviridae
- Simian T-lymphotropic virus 1
- Spumavirus
- Tissue Donors
- Transplantation, Heterologous
- Virus Diseases
- surgery
- transplantation
Other ID:
UI: 102213487
From Meeting Abstracts