Eliran Moshe Reuven, Shani Leviatan Ben-Arye, Tal Marshanski, Michael E Breimer, Hai Yu, Imen Fellah-Hebia, Jean-Christian Roussel, Cristina Costa, Manuel Galiñanes, Rafael Mañez, Thierry Le Tourneau, Jean-Paul Soulillou, Emanuele Cozzi, Xi Chen, Vered Padler-Karavani
BACKGROUND: The two common sialic acids (Sias) in mammals are N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and its hydroxylated form N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc). Unlike most mammals, humans cannot synthesize Neu5Gc that is considered foreign and recognized by circulating antibodies. Thus, Neu5Gc is a potential xenogenic carbohydrate antigen in bioprosthetic heart valves (BHV) that tend to deteriorate in time within human patients. METHODS: We investigated Neu5Gc expression in non-engineered animal-derived cardiac tissues and in clinically used commercial BHV, and evaluated Neu5Gc immunogenicity on BHV through recognition by human anti-Neu5Gc IgG...
September 2016: Xenotransplantation