Pig-human chimeras contain cell surprise
Pigs grown from fetuses into which human stem cells were injected have surprised scientists by having cells in which the DNA from the two species is mixed at the most intimate level.
It is the first time such fused cells have been seen in living creatures. The discovery could have serious implications for xenotransplantation - the use of animal tissue and organs in humans - and even the origin of diseases such as HIV.
The adult pigs that had received human stem cells as fetuses were found to have pig cells, human cells and the hybrid cells in their blood and organs.
'What we found was completely unexpected. We found that the human and pig cells had totally fused in the animals' bodies,' said Jeffrey Platt, director of the Mayo Clinic Transplantation Biology Program.
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