Inactivating hepatitis C virus in donor lungs using light therapies during normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion

Galasso M¹, Feld JJ², Watanabe Y¹, Pipkin M¹, Summers C¹, Ali A¹, Qaqish R¹, Chen M¹, Ribeiro RVP¹, Ramadan K¹, Pires L¹, Bagnato VS³, Kurachi C³, Cherepanov V⁴, Moonen G¹, Gazzalle A¹, Waddell TK¹, Liu M¹, Keshavjee S¹, Wilson BC⁵, Humar A⁶, Cypel M^7,8.  (Multi-Organ Transplant Program, University Health Network, Toronto, M5G 2C4, ON, Canada). marcelo.cypel@uhn.ca.

Nat Commun. 2019 Jan 29;10(1):481. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-08261-z.  

Availability of organs is a limiting factor for lung transplantation, leading to substantial mortality rates on the wait list. Use of organs from donors with transmissible viral infections, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), would increase organ donation, but these organs are generally not offered for transplantation due to a high risk of transmission. Here, we develop a method for treatment of HCV-infected human donor lungs that prevents HCV transmission. Physical viral clearance in combination with germicidal light-based therapies during normothermic ex-vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP), a method for assessment and treatment of injured donor lungs, inactivates HCV virus in a short period of time. Such treatment is shown to be safe using a large animal EVLP-to-lung transplantation model. This strategy of treating viral infection in a donor organ during preservation could significantly increase the availability of organs for transplantation and encourages further clinical development.

PMID:  30696822. PMCID: PMC6351537. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08261-z
Full text at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-08261-z