Heart valves from pigs and the porcine endogenous retrovirus: Experimental and clinical data to assess the probability of porcine endogenous retrovirus infection in human subjects

• Published in: The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery Vol. 121; no. 4; pp. 697 - 701
• Main Authors: Moza, A.K., Mertsching, H., Herden, T., Bader, A., Haverich, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Elsevier Inc 01.04.2001; AATS/WTSA; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Animals; Aortic Valve - surgery; Aortic Valve - virology; Biological and medical sciences; Bioprosthesis - adverse effects; Bioprosthesis - virology; Cells, Cultured; DNA, Viral - analysis; Endogenous Retroviruses - genetics; Endogenous Retroviruses - isolation & purification; Female; Heart Valve Diseases - surgery; Heart Valve Prosthesis - adverse effects; Heart Valve Prosthesis - virology; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation - adverse effects; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mitral Valve - surgery; Mitral Valve - virology; Monocytes - virology; Retroviridae Infections - blood; Retroviridae Infections - transmission; Retroviridae Infections - virology; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Viral - analysis; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery of the heart; Swine; Transplantation, Heterologous - adverse effects; Human; Retroviridae; Glutaral; Heart valve; Pig; Infection; Virus; Mammalian type C retrovirus; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Preserved graft; Treatment; Animal; Surgery; Complication; Artiodactyla; Ungulata
• ISSN: 0022-5223; 1097-685X
• DOI: 10.1067/mtc.2001.112530

Objective: Replacement of heart valves in human subjects has become a routine procedure in cardiac operations. We sought to investigate whether commercially available glutaraldehyde-fixed porcine heart valve prostheses cause porcine endogenous retrovirus infection in human subjects because recent studies revealed that human cells can be infected with porcine endogenous retrovirus. Methods: Blood samples of 18 patients who underwent aortic or mitral valve replacement with porcine heart valves were collected 6 months to 3 years after operation and tested for porcine endogenous retrovirus by means of polymerase chain reaction and reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. In addition, we tried to trace porcine endogenous retrovirus in 3 commercially available, glutaraldehyde-fixed, porcine heart valves. Results: Porcine endogenous retrovirus can be easily detected in native porcine heart valves and degrades completely within 1 week of fixation in glutaraldehyde. In all 3 commercially available porcine heart valves, no traces of porcine endogenous retrovirus were found. All blood samples showed negative test results for the porcine endogenous retrovirus genome. Conclusion: Our results indicate that glutaraldehyde fixation of porcine heart valves reliably prevents cross-species transmission of porcine endogenous retrovirus. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;121:697-701)