Goals
The main goal of the Experimental Surgery and Transplantation Unit is to study pathophysiological problems related to visceral surgery in order to develop new therapies implying technical progress and/or improved fundamental knowledge. In the laboratory, the techniques used combine sophisticated surgical procedures (cardiac surgery, kidney transplantation ...) and biochemical, physiological, immunological and basic molecular biological methods.
The first domain of particular interest is “organ transplantation (allografts and xenografts)”.
The mechanisms of tolerance induction and maintenance to primarily (liver, kidney) vascularized allografts are under investigation in a unique miniature swine model (MGH-pig) which has been selected on MHC antigens.
The second domain of particular interest is the implantation of encapsulated Pig Pancreatic cells graft into diabetic pigs in order to correct diabetes without the need of chronic immunosuppression. Although unmodified pigs are and have been used successfully to transplant pancreatic pig islets into primates, we recently had access to several genetically engineered pigs such as Galactosyl Knock Out pigs which should provide organs or xenogeneic cells less sensitive to hyperacute rejection. We have also access to multiple transgenic pigs for several genes involved in xeno- or allo-rejection (CD55, THr, CTLA4Ig …) and more recently, transgenic pigs which overexpress GLP-1 and muscarinic receptor 3 to amplify the pig insulin response to hyperglycemic challenges.
In addition, several pre-clinical and clinical studies are undertaken by members of the surgical department of Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc such as the impairment of hepatic regeneration by chemotherapy in rats, research in urology areas, the bioartificial face transplantation, oral or maxillofacial surgery, implantation of devices for correcting sleep apnea or valves repair in pigs.
