Chinese researchers have successfully created two pig-monkey chimeric piglets, though they survived only one week.
Organ failure claims tens of thousands of lives annually due to donor shortages. To address this crisis, scientists are exploring xenotransplantation—growing human-compatible organs in animals for transplant.
Pioneering efforts include Hiromitsu Nakauchi's 2010 creation of mice with rat pancreases at Stanford University. In 2017, Salk Institute researchers injected human cells into pig embryos, achieving just one human cell per million pig cells before ethical concerns halted the work after a month.
Now, experts from China's State Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Reproductive Biology in Beijing used monkey cells instead. They recently birthed piglets incorporating cells from crab-eating macaques. Findings are detailed in the journal Protein & Cell.
Led by Tang Hai, the team genetically engineered macaque cells, isolating about 4,000 embryonic stem cells and injecting them into pig embryos four days post-fertilization. Of roughly ten piglets born, two were chimeras.
Monkey cells comprised a fraction (1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000) of tissues like heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and skin in these chimeras.
Tragically, all piglets—including the chimeras—died after one week. This likely stems from the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process, which carries higher risks in animals than humans.
Despite low chimera efficiency and piglet mortality, the team plans further research to develop piglets with primate-dominated organs, advancing toward human organ production in animals—a complex path ahead.
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