Succeeded in cultivating human kidneys in pigs for the first time in the world
Although the hurdles for organ donation have been lowered through various methods, there is still a shortage of donors. In recent years, research other than direct human organ transplantation has been progressing as a means to solve the donor shortage problem. A new research team from the Guangzhou Biomedical and Health Research Institute has announced that they have succeeded in culturing kidneys containing human cells inside pigs.
Generation of a humanized mesonephros in pigs from induced pluripotent stem cells via embryo complementation: Cell Stem Cell
Humanised kidneys grown inside pigs for the first time | Medical research | The Guardian
Partially formed human kidneys grown inside pigs for the first time
A research team led by Liangxue Lai of the Guangzhou Biomedical and Health Research Institute extracted embryos from fertilized pigs and removed two genes necessary for the development of kidneys in the pig's body. . They then implanted human stem cells into the embryos to create human-pig chimeric embryos, which were then placed back into the bodies of 13 pigs.
25 to 28 days after implantation of the chimeric embryo, the research team removed the embryo from the pig's body and analyzed it. They found that a normal kidney containing 50% to 60% human cells had formed. 'We found that when we remove genes from pig embryos, human genes naturally fit into this gap,' said Zhen Dai of the Guangzhou Biomedical and Health Research Institute. The research team hopes that by growing human-like kidneys cultured in pigs, it will be possible to provide a stable supply of kidneys that are less susceptible to rejection when transplanted.
On the other hand, it is considered technically difficult to create and grow a kidney made of 100% human genes in a pig's body, and Miguel Esteban of the Guangzhou Biomedical and Health Research Institute said, ``More than ever before, we need to grow a kidney made of human genes.'' 'You have to operate it in a complex way, and it presents a number of technical challenges.'
Additionally, ethical issues have been raised about creating chimeric human-animal embryos. If human stem cells are transplanted into pig embryos and human genes are expressed in the pig's brain and spinal cord, the pig may develop a consciousness similar to that of humans. There are also ethical concerns about allowing pigs to act as 'incubators' for growing human organs.
Dusko Ilić from King's College London said, ``The challenge of growing human organs in pigs is that the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, does not develop nerve cells containing human genes. 'The goal is to allow the human nervous and vascular system to develop only with the target organs. Technically and theoretically, it is currently unclear how to grow only the target organs.' Masu.
'Ultimately, we would like to grow mature human organs in pigs that could be used for human transplantation or disease research,' Esteban said. 'However, this would not only take a significant amount of time; 'We may face various technical barriers,' he said, revealing that he is conducting research to cultivate organs such as the heart and other organs inside pigs. Esteban also reports, ``Our research team is proceeding with these studies very carefully and gradually to avoid ethical controversy over this research.''
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