1年間の極低温保存後にブタの腎臓の機能回復に成功(A step toward organs waiting for patients, not patients waiting for organs)

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2026-11-06 ミネソタ大学

米国ミネソタ大学の研究チームは、ヒトの腎臓に近い大きさのブタ腎臓を極低温で1年間保存した後、機能を回復させることに成功した。研究では、氷結晶による組織損傷を防ぐガラス化技術(Vitrification)を用い、腎臓をマイナス150℃で保存した。再加温には、酸化鉄ナノ粒子を腎臓の血管内に分散させ、外部から高周波電磁場を照射して内部から均一に加熱するナノウォーミング技術を採用した。保存期間366日の腎臓では、実験室での灌流試験により機能回復を確認した。また、別の3個の腎臓をブタに移植したところ、血流が再開し、直ちに尿の生成が始まった。従来の冷蔵保存では臓器の利用可能時間が限られていたが、本技術は保存期間を数か月から数年に延ばす可能性を示す。ただし、今回の移植後の評価は2時間であり、長期的な機能維持や人体への安全性は今後の検証課題である。

1年間の極低温保存後にブタの腎臓の機能回復に成功(A step toward organs waiting for patients, not patients waiting for organs)

<関連情報>

ガラス化およびナノ加温されたヒトサイズのブタ腎臓の機能回復 Functional recovery of vitrified and nanowarmed human-scale pig kidneys

Zonghu Han, Bat-Erdene Namsrai, Anudari Chimedtseren, Anthony A. D. Chen, Benjamin J. Fisher, Diane Tobolt, Michael G. Megaly, Onyinyechukwu Justina Oziri, Minhan Jiang, Joseph Sushil Rao, Andrew B. Adams, Michael L. Etheridge, John C. Bischof, Erik B. Finger
bioRxiv  Posted: October 14, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.07.756990

Abstract

Organ transplantation is critically constrained by the short preservation window for donor organs, limiting allocation and contributing to organ discard and waitlist mortality. Cryogenic organ banking could extend preservation from hours to months or years, but ice formation, thermal stress and cryoprotectant toxicity become increasingly difficult to control as organ size increases. Vitrification and nanowarming have enabled long-term preservation and transplantation of rodent kidneys but have not been demonstrated at the scale of clinically relevant organs. Here we show that vitrification and electromagnetic nanowarming enable long-term cryogenic storage and functional recovery of human-scale porcine kidneys. Kidneys 100-fold larger than previously nanowarmed kidneys were successfully recovered after storage at −150 °C for up to one year. A new cryoprotectant formulation and multithermic perfusion strategy enabled ice-free vitrification at cooling rates achievable in large kidneys, while controlled cooling with annealing and staged volumetric nanowarming limited thermal stress and enabled rapid rewarming without cracking. Rewarmed kidneys demonstrated vascular, metabolic and excretory function during normothermic perfusion, with limited histological injury, and reperfused homogeneously and produced urine immediately after transplantation. Functional recovery approached static cold storage outcomes across several measures and was similar to that of kidneys exposed to cryoprotectant alone, suggesting minimal additional functional injury from vitrification, cryogenic storage and nanowarming. These findings overcome major scale and storage-duration barriers to organ cryopreservation and establish a path toward organ banking on timescales far beyond those of conventional preservation.

 

 

医療・健康
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