Human intestine grown in mouse - there is hope to create 'spare parts'
Human intestine grown in mouse for first time as
scientists say there is hope to create 'spare parts' for people
Whole organs, composed of a complex arrangement of
specialised tissues, could one day be made inside a patient’s body
STEVE CONNOR
SCIENCE EDITOR Monday 20 October
2014
A segment of human intestine has been grown in laboratory
mice for the first time as part of research that could one day produce
transplant “spare parts” for repairing diseased tissues and organs using a
patient’s own skin cells.
The miniature intestine grew from a single stem cell to
the size of a fingertip and was able to carry out many of the functions
associated with digesting and absorbing food, scientists said.
It is the latest evidence supporting the idea that whole
organs, composed of a complex arrangement of specialised tissues, could be made
inside a patient’s body by exploiting the inherent power of living cells to
organise themselves into a fully functioning structure.
In addition to growing human organs from scratch,
scientists believe that the technology will produce better laboratory models of
diseased tissue for testing drugs, which could speed up the development of new
medicines, as well as offering alternatives to animal testing.
“These studies support the concept that patient-specific
cells can be used to grow intestine,” said Michael Helmrath, of the Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital Medical Centre in the US state of Ohio, who led the study
published in the journal Nature Medicine.
“This provides a new way to study the many diseases and
conditions that can cause intestinal failure, from genetic disorders appearing
at birth to conditions that strike later in life, such as cancer and Crohn’s
disease,” Dr Helmrath said.
“These studies also advance the longer-term goal of
growing tissues that can replace damaged human intestine.”
The study began by using genetic engineering to convert
human skin and blood cells into a type of embryonic-like stem cells called
induced pluripotent stem cells.
The stem cells were bathed in growth factors to trigger
their conversion to intestinal cells before being transplanted into the kidney
capsule of a mouse, where they were fed by a blood supply.
Six to eight weeks following transplantation, the ball of
cells was bigger than a mouse kidney and had matured into almost all of the
major tissue types found in a fully developed human intestine.
“The idea is that one day it may be possible to grow
replacement tissues within the patient without the need for an organ
transplant. It essentially uses the ability of cells themselves to
self-organise into a working organ,” Dr Helmrath added.
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