kidney’s – BioQuakes

Xenotransplantation is defined as the process of transplanting organs between members of different species. Saying it out loud it sounds like mad science but the it’s not as crazy you might think. Xenotransplantation has actually been a process that has been used for many years, even dating back to the 1960s. This journey began with apes and monkeys. Scientists believe that it would make the most amount of sense to use because they were essentially the most promising source of organs and tissue due to their being primates. However, this unraveled into a series of problems that were due to them being contaminated with viruses that are pathogenic to human beings. Baby monkeys were also researched but the idea was dismissed due to ethical reasons. This consequently led to the study of pig tissue.

We have actually been utilizing things from pigs that most people may not even be aware of. One example of this is pig insulin. It would replace the insulin that your body would usually make in order to get blood sugar into your cells. We obviously can’t take just any part of a pig and use it. We can, however, utilize a pig’s kidneys and transplant it into a human body. On September 25th, scientists and researchers successfully transplanted a kidney from a genetically altered pig into a human patient and discovered that it functioned normally.

How Did It Work?

According to the an article by the New York Times, the pig needed to be genetically altered in order to be transplanted into the patient. What was altered? Essentially the kidney in the procedure was obtained by removing a pig gene that encodes a sugar molecule that elicits an aggressive human rejection response. Interestingly enough, the genetic difference between pig DNA and human DNA is 98 percent.

What Were The Risks?

While pigs and humans may share a lot of DNA, they are not a match right away. A non altered pig would cause many risks if any part of it were transplanted into the human body. A way it could pose an issue is through the viruses they may contain. Pig viruses may not cause disease in pigs, but they can in fact be pathogenic to humans. The human proteins that are expressed onto the transgenic pig cells can be receptors for viruses. An article on pig DNA from PMC explains that CD55 is a receptor for human Coxsackie B and ECHO viruses (these are relatives of poliovirus), and these cause a disease called myocarditis. The protein CD46 can act as as a receptor for the measles virus, so it is possible that morbilliviruses of animals could be preadapted in the same pigs used for xenotransplantation.

Another way that these transgenic pigs may heighten risk of virus is through viruses with lipid envelopes that are from host cell membranes would be less likely to inactivated by human compliment. What could have been a protective mechanism against infections from viruses derived from farm animals could be broken down in attempts to make xenografts for humans (The tissue or organ being transplanted from the other species).

Diagram of a pig kidney

The future of xenotransplantation looks promising. While it may have worked, scientists are still doing studies and still trying to find out more about the viruses pigs may carry. While we can weed out the viruses we are aware of, we still can’t account for the ones we don’t know exist. There is a reason this topic is somewhat new and that is because of ethics. Apes and Monkeys could’ve actually been genetically altered the same way these pigs were, however it was deemed unethical. I personally agree that apes and monkeys shouldn’t be harvested, but that begs the question of whether harvesting organs from pigs is ethical. And with that I ask you what you ate for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Pigs and other animals are already being harvested for food and I believe that if there is a problem with xenotransplants, there would be a problem with the food industry. With that being said, if you’re ever in the market for a kidney, you have options.

Did you ever think you were harming your health while going through your morning routine? Applying deodorant is a daily practice of many people around the world. However, we often don’t realize what exactly we are applying to our bodies and what chemicals the products we are using are made up of. When was the last time you checked the label to see if there were any potentially harmful elements in something as basic as deodorant? Not often, I presume. But I think we all need to start!

Deodorant bottle

The article from Penn Medicine explores the effects the deodorant can have. Deodorant’s contain chemicals which can be absorbed into the body from applying it onto the skin. The theory people have formed about deodorant is that the toxins from the deodorant will collect in the lymph nodes that will turn healthy cells into cancer cells, especially breast cancer as it located closest to the armpit where the deodorant is applied. The difference between a cancer cell and a healthy cell a cancerous cells is a mutation of its DNA (contains the genetic code for organisms). Nucleic acids are DNA. Nucleic acids consist of nucleotides that are made up of a five carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The mutation of the DNA causes uncontrolled cellular proliferation which can occur due to mutations in genes that control cell death and regular cell growth. Healthy cells carry out their ‘normal’ specialized functions. However, the American Cancer Society has said that there is not enough scientific evidence to back the theory. Aluminum is a big ingredient in deodorant needed to prevent sweating. Our bodies ability to sweat is controlled by our nervous system. But how does deodorant really accomplish what it is supposed to? Essentially, the salts in the aluminum have to break down in order to prevent sweat on the pores. The National Center for Biotechnology information claimed that breast tissue does, indeed, have an increase of aluminum in them with daily use of deodorant.

Harmful Effects of Aluminum on Kidney’s

A extreme excess of aluminum in the body can result in bone diseases or dementia. Also, a excess of aluminum can also cause kidney issues with people with pre-existing kidney conditions since aluminum gets filtered out of the body through the kidney’s. For the most part, though, there is not enough aluminum in the sticks for it to do enough damage for people with healthy kidneys.

Diagram of a kidney

Other Harmful Chemicals Used In Deodorant

Parabens is another ingredient used in deodorant to prevent bacteria from growing on the deodorant, basically being used as a preservative. Parabens also get absorbed through the skin and function as estrogen. Why exactly are parabens bad for us? A excess of estrogen throughout a lifetime, however, can result in increase breast cancer or even a tumor. The positive is that it is in too little of an amount to really make a difference in our bodies.

Chemical structure of Parabens

Just to be safe, though, I think it is time to go buy some aluminum free deodorant- a quick, easy and convenient solution! Here are some great aluminum free deodorants and here are some natural deodorants to get started on using!

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: kidney’s

Quit Hogging All the Kidneys

How Did It Work?

What Were The Risks?

Can Deodorant Cause Cancer?

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