Natural Science Forum / Biology / Biology / August 2004

HOX Transplants

If I understand correctly, the homeobox, or HOX, is a set
of 'like genes' centered on three chromosomes in the human
genome, that code for human morphology and shape.

In the year 2000, Zoldogen Corporation [1], successfully
spliced out the Homeobox (HOX) from human cells and grafted
in the Homeobox set from pigs and from other animals with
corresponding chromosome centers in its place.  The
nuclear DNA from the donor was the same except for
the spliced HOX centers.  This DNA was then processed
to produce an embryo by already existant cloning techniques.

This was then placed in a female pig.  The embryo then
grew and was born.  At birth, the organism looked in every
respect like a pig.  It had hooves and a snout like a pig,
and the brain size of the organism was also identical to that
of a pig.  However, the DNA outside of the HOX was still
found to be identical to that of the donor human.  It grew
at the same rate as that of a pig on a farm.  One year after
birth, the kidneys of the pig were harvested and transferred
to the donor, who had spent several years on dialysis, and
whose immune system had already rejected a previous kidney
transplant years earlier, after getting several diseases while
on immunosupressant drugs.

Six months after the transplant, immunosupressant drugs were
discontinued, the kidneys still worked fine, and the patient
suffered no ill effects.  'This marvelous technique has given
me new life.', the patient says.

The corporation says that they have standardised the splicing
technique and that it might be economically feasible to use it
on a large scale for a vast number of individual donors, in
several years.  'Vast numbers of people who previously would
have died waiting for transplant organs to become available,
may now possibly survive, due to this technique.', the
corporation spokesman says.

I should remind you that genetically modified animals and plants
already exist for the production of pharmaceuticals and other
biocompounds.  I think that there are also some experiments
that may have to do with immunocompatability.  The major
difference in this experiment is that it transplants everything
except the HOX, which might tend to generally often determine
an organism's morphology.  This might help to produce greater
immunocompatability, because then nearly all protiens outside
of those producing morphology would be identical to that of
the donor, producing a precise immunological fit.  Something
not as possible with transplants between human beings, outside
of those between identical twins, who all have somewhat
varying immunocompatability.

Now this might not work at all, but say that it does, with
some persistance and an array of refinements.

Would most religious organisations immediately seek a ban on
the technique, call it a 'monstrosity', and would a vast
number of prohibitions be placed upon it as a result?

Would it herald a new age in which most transplants would be
done in this way?

[1] Any similarity to past or present corporations is purely
coincidental.