Removal of baboon and human antiporcine IgG and IgM natural antibodies by immunoadsorption. Results of in vitro and in vivo studies.

The safe and effective removal of xenoreactive antibodies in the peritransplant period is likely to be critical for the clinical application of xenotransplantation involving disparate donor species, such as the pig. In an effort to develop an improved method for antibody removal in xenotransplantation, we have studied reusable antihuman antibody (Ig) columns in vitro and in vivo. Two types of columns were tested: (1) an antihuman Ig column containing polyclonal sheep antihuman IgG (heavy- and light-chain-specific) conjugated to sepharose CL-4B (Ig-Therasorb), and (2) an antihuman Ig column using polyclonal antihuman IgM (mu-chain-specific) conjugated to sepharose.