Viruses (Jul 2019)

Transmission of Porcine Circovirus 3 (PCV3) by Xenotransplantation of Pig Hearts into Baboons

  • Luise Krüger,
  • Matthias Längin,
  • Bruno Reichart,
  • Uwe Fiebig,
  • Yannick Kristiansen,
  • Carolin Prinz,
  • Barbara Kessler,
  • Stefanie Egerer,
  • Eckhard Wolf,
  • Jan-Michael Abicht,
  • Joachim Denner

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v11070650
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 7
p. 650

Abstract

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Porcine circovirus 3 (PCV3) is a newly described member of the virus family Circoviridae. PCV3 is highly distributed among pigs and wild boars worldwide. A sudden introduction of PCV3 was recently observed in a herd of triple genetically modified pigs generated for xenotransplantation. These animals were used as donor pigs for orthotopic heart transplantation into baboons. In four cases, PCV3-positive hearts were transplanted, and transmission of PCV3 to the recipient was observed. PCV3 was found in all organs of the recipient baboons and a higher virus load was found in animals with a longer survival time of the transplant, indicating replication of the virus. This is the first report showing trans-species transmission of PCV3 to baboons by transplantation of a heart from a PCV3-positive donor pig. Sequence analysis showed that PCV3a and PCV3b were present in the infected pigs and were transmitted. Experiments to infect human 293 cells with PCV3 failed.

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