Alexion other research news

A review of previously published work described how removal of a key antigenic site on foreign organs, cells, tissues and viruses can allow graft acceptance and improve the action of gene therapies with certain retroviral vectors. As reviewed in Cell, the key antigenic site is a sugar, Gal-alpha1-3GalB1-4GlcNAc-R, or alpha-Gal, that is present on cell surfaces in all mammals except for humans and Old World primates. The human immune system therefore targets the epitope as foreign. Moreover, if retroviruses are cultured in animal cells, they can bear the epitope as well and may be rejected by the human body. ...