Conference report: Academic symposium on frontiers in skin xenotransplantation and inaugural assembly of the skin xenotransplantation research consortium

Date: June 23, 2026

Venue: Longhua Hospital, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China

Organizer: Editorial Board of Regenesis Repair Rehabilitation (RRR)

Founding Initiators: Yuelushan Laboratory & Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital

I. Introduction & Quick Overview

On June 23, 2026, the Academic Symposium on Frontiers in Skin Xenotransplantation and inaugural assembly of the Skin Xenotransplantation Research Consortium convened at Longhua Hospital, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital. Organized by the Editorial Board of Regenesis Repair Rehabilitation (RRR) and jointly initiated by Yuelushan Laboratory and the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery of Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, the symposium assembled leading clinicians, geneticists, biomedical engineers, animal scientists, and industry pioneers from prominent Chinese research universities and medical institutions.

Structured around the overarching theme "Bridging Basic Science, Clinical Application, and Industrial Translation in Skin Xenotransplantation", the meeting formally inaugurated the Skin Xenotransplantation Research Consortium. The symposium established an interdisciplinary platform dedicated to addressing fundamental scientific bottlenecks, standardizing donor swine resources, streamlining pathways for clinical translation, and fostering commercial viability—with the collective aim of delivering safer, next-generation biological products for severe burns, extensive skin defects, and emergency trauma care.

Distinguished participants included Prof. Jun Wu, Prof. Hong Wei, Prof. Mei Liu, Prof. Yi Wang, Prof. Hangxu Huang, Prof. Hongsheng Ouyang, Prof. Liangpeng Ge, Prof. Yong Wang, Prof. Shuai Tan, Dr. Xianggang Zou, Prof. Guangtao Huang, Prof. Huaiming Leng, and Prof. Zhongxiang Yao.

II. Scientific Programme and Key Session Highlights

The academic programme spanned the full translational pipeline, extending from fundamental immunology and multi-gene editing to biosafety, standardized breeding, and AI-enabled cross-disciplinary innovation.

1. Innate Immunity and Rejection Mechanisms

Prof. Yi Wang (Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University) presented a systematic dissection of innate immune rejection. His team elucidated the cellular processes through which porcine pulmonary macrophage mediate phagocytosis and rejection of human erythrocytes, identifying novel theoretical targets for optimizing gene-edited donor swine and substantially prolonging skin xenograft survival.

2. Strategic Industrial Vision and Dual--Purpose Swine Models

Prof. Mei Liu (Yuelushan Laboratory) delineated Academician Yilong Yin's strategic vision for dual-purpose swine—animals genetically engineered to serve both agricultural production and medical applications. She argued that such models could catalyze major growth nodes across tissue transplantation, biomaterials, disease modeling, and drug discovery. The presentation systematically examined operational bottlenecks including standardization protocols, biosafety containment, immune compatibility, and scalable breeding strategies.

3. International Trends and AI-Assisted Cross-Disciplinary Integration

Prof. Hangxu Huang (First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine) proposed the construction of a collaborative innovation ecosystem—integrating academic institutions, clinical centers, and industry partners—through the newly established consortium. He highlighted frontier explorations in AI-driven protein structure prediction and antimicrobial peptide discovery, outlining transformative technological trajectories for skin repair and advanced tissue engineering.

4. Multi-Gene Editing and Biomaterial Validation

Prof. Hongsheng Ouyang (Zhejiang University School of Medicine) reported recent advances in engineering multi-gene-edited donor pigs. His presentation focused on high-precision genome-editing platforms and the rigorous functional validation of porcine-derived skin constructs, subcutaneous adipose matrices, and bioscaffolds designed for complex wound repair.

5. Standardized Swine Resource Infrastructure

Prof. Liangpeng Ge (Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences) described the systematic establishment of Germ-Free (GF), Specific Pathogen-Free (SPF), and clinical-grade donor swine platforms founded on the experimental Rongchang pig line. He advocated for the creation of unified database registries and standardized pathogen-screening benchmarks to safeguard xenotransplantation and porcine-derived bioproduct pipelines.

6. Core Gene Editing and Cloning-Based Production Systems

Prof. Yong Wang (Army Medical University) detailed key technological platforms for clinical grade donor pig production, with an emphasis on simultaneous multiplex gene knockout and transgenesis, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) cloning, and standardized husbandry systems engineered to meet rigorous regulatory requirements.

7. Disease Modeling and Insights into Pediatric Burn Infection

Prof. Shuai Tan (Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University) presented multi-omics investigations into early-life gut microbiota perturbations and burn-induced gut-derived sepsis using porcine models. He further highlighted progress in transgenic porcine skin grafting models specifically designed for pediatric wound care research.

8. Product Iteration and Dual International Registration

Prof. Hong Wei (Yuelushan Laboratory) reviewed more than two decades of transgenic porcine skin development in China. He noted that his team's living-cell porcine skin product remains the first and only market-authorized living-cell xenotransplant worldwide. Prof. Wei proposed leveraging the consortium to accelerate second- and third-generation products with enhanced immunocompatibility and targeted functional edits, aiming for concurrent regulatory approval in both China (NMPA) and the United States (FDA).

III. Strategic Roadmap and Future Consensus

In his concluding remarks, Prof. Jun Wu (Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital) synthesized the discussions and articulated a three-pillar technical roadmap for the consortium:

Demand-driven clinical innovation, in which genetic modifications and tissue-engineering strategies are directly aligned with unmet clinical needs to drive iterative product development.

Comprehensive multidisciplinary validation, harmonizing gene-editing optimization, rigorous biosafety evaluations, germ-free husbandry systems, and systematic expansion of clinical indication.

An end-to-end translational pipeline, structuring a continuous trajectory from preclinical testing and multicenter clinical trials through regulatory clearance to commercial-scale production, with the aim of building a globally competitive portfolio.

Consensus Statement

The participating expert reached unanimous agreement that, propelled by rapid advances in gene editing, synthetic biology, laboratory animal science, and regenerative medicine, skin xenotransplantation is entering a transformative period of accelerated progress. The Skin Xenotransplantation Research Consortium will serve as a catalytic platform for surmounting technical barriers, unifying industry standards, and advancing high-level clinical translation on a global scale.