Scientists create functional organ within the mouse … – HypeScience – Science is the star of the real world

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

According to researchers from Scotland, an entire functioning organ was grown from scratch in an animal first.

A group of cells developed into a thymus – essential lymphatic organ of the immune system – when transplanted into mice. The results, published in the journal “Nature Cell Biology”, may pave the way for alternatives to organ transplantation.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Found near the heart, thymus produces T cells components of the immune system to fight infections. Experts say the research is promising, but there is still years away from functional therapies in humans.

Scientists from the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University started with cells from an embryo rat. They were genetically “reprogrammed” and began to turn into a type of cells found in the thymus. Cells mixed with other paper support were placed into mice. Once inside, the set of cells has developed into a functional thymus.

This is similar to one made last year, when human brains grown in the laboratory reached the same level of development of a fetus with nine weeks of age. The thymus is a much simpler body, and in these experiments, it was fully functional. Structurally, produced T-cells.

Clare Blackburn, who was part of the research, said it was “tremendously exciting” when the team realized what he had achieved. “It was a complete surprise to us that we were actually able to generate a fully functional and fully organized body with reprogrammed cells in a very simple way,” he says. “This is a very exciting breakthrough and is also very tempting in terms of regenerative medicine.”

Patients who need a bone marrow transplant and children who are born without a functional thymus could benefit. Ways to increase the thymus could also help elderly people, as the body decreases with age and leaves the weaker immune system.

However, there are a number of obstacles to overcome before this survey skirt animal studies and reach hospital therapies. The present technique uses embryos, which means that the thymus artificially created would not be compatible with the patient’s tissue. Researchers also need to make sure that the transplanted cells do not pose a cancer risk if grow uncontrollably.

Robin Lovell-Badge of the National Institute for Medical Research in the UK, says this appears to be an excellent study. “It is an important achievement, both to demonstrate how to make an organ, although relatively simple, and because of the key role of the thymus in the development of a well-functioning immune system,” opines. “However, it is unlikely that the methods are easy to translate to human patients.”

The field of regenerative medicine has developed rapidly. There are already patients blood vessels, trachea and bladder grown in the laboratory, “seeded” from patient cells and then implanted. As for the thymus, was just need an injection of cells.

Paolo de Coppi, pioneer of regenerative therapies at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, thinks this type of research demonstrates that engineering of organs could as a substitute for transplant in the future. “A type of relatively simple organ engineering has been adopted by a small number of patients and it is possible that within the next five years, more complex organs are designed using specialized cells derived from stem cells in a similar manner to that described in this article” he says. [BBC News]