From pigs to patients: The omics edge in xenotransplantation

Only one in four transplant waitlisted patients receive a life-saving organ. Xenotransplantation of pig organs into humans is a promising avenue for addressing organ shortage. Understanding the immune and physiological responses in these xenotransplants is crucial for future success in compassionate use and first-in-human trials. Seven gene-edited pig organs were transplanted into brain dead or living human in NYU in the last 3 years. These studies allowed us to generate and combine a number of omic datasets, including extensive transcriptomics spanning PBMC bulk RNA-seq, tissue and PBMC sc/snRNAseq and spatial transcriptomics; and various targeted and untargeted proteomic and metabolomic profiling. Plasma and urine samples were collected every day along with frequent xenograft tissue biopsies. 

This presentation focuses on blood proteomics and metabolomics in these xenotransplant recipients and illustrates the power of integrative omics to detect physiological and immunological changes in these unique experiments.

Learning Objectives

• Examine the potential of xenotransplantation as a solution to the organ shortage crisis, focusing on recent advancements and the transplantation of gene-edited pig organs into humans.
• Understand the methodologies and significance of generating and integrating various omic datasets (transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) in studying immune and physiological responses in xenotransplant recipients.
• Learn about the use of mass spectrometry to generate proteomics and metabolomics data.

Webinars will be available for unlimited on-demand viewing after live event.

Presenter: Brendan Keating, PhD (Associate Professor, Division of Transplantation, Dept of Surgery and Institute of Systems Genetics, New York University Langone Health)

Brendan Keating, Is an Associate Professor in the Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, and The Institute of Systems Genetics, New York University (NYU) Langone Health, USA, with adjunct positions in University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He received his D.Phil. (Ph.D.) in molecular genetics from Christ Church College, at the University of Oxford, UK with his thesis completed in the Department of Clinical Medicine, and the Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) and faculty position in Departments of Pediatrics and Surgery at UPenn, and he was also a visiting Scientist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK.

His Lab research interests focus on the analyses of polymorphisms and omics transplant donor and recipient’s genomes, to discover and validate genomic signals that underpin graft rejection and post-transplant complications in allotransplant, and pig to human xenotransplant settings. He instigated the formation of an international genomics consortium (iGeneTRAIN) for large-scale genomic studies. Dr. Keating also leads a Phase IV clinical trial for the early detection, diagnoses and treatment of influenza in transplant households using wearable devices.