Intrathecal delivery of fluorescent labeled butyrylcholinesterase to the brains of butyrylcholinesterase knock-out mice: visualization and quantification of enzyme distribution in the brain.

Exogenously delivered butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) has proven to be an efficient bioscavenger against highly toxic organophosphorus poisons and nerve agents. The scavenger properties of BChE when delivered via intramuscular, intravenous, subcutaneous, or intraperitoneal routes are limited to the body's peripheral sites because the 340 kDa enzyme does not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Overcoming the BBB is an important step toward evaluating the neuroprotective properties of BChE within the central nervous system (CNS).

Heart xenograft survival with chimeric pig donors and modest immune suppression.

Objective: To assess the use of donor pigs with cellular chimerism for prevention of acute rejection with modest immune suppression. The clinical use of pig organ xenografts is currently precluded by severe acute rejection, which resists standard immune suppression.

Summary Background Data: For long-term survival of pig organ xenografts, immune suppression significantly greater than used with allografts would currently be necessary, leaving the recipient immune deficient and at increased risk for infections.