A team of scientists have grown rudimentary human kidney tissue from stem cells, which could be a key step towards the Holy Grail of fully-functional, lab-made transplant organs.
The tissue is not a viable organ, but may be useful for other purposes such as replacing animals in drug toxicity tests, the team said.
Complex Body Parts Could Soon be Lab-grown, Say Experts
Experts say soon it may be possible to grow complex organs like kidneys and hearts in the lab.
Advertisement
The researchers from Australia and the Netherlands grew their "kidney-like structure" from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells -- adult cells reprogrammed into a neutral state from which they can be coaxed to develop into other cell types.
Given the critical shortage of donor organs to replace those damaged by accident or disease, it has long been a goal of science to create human organs from stem cells.
![Lab Grown Arteries Exhibit Greater Elasticity]( "Lab Grown Arteries Exhibit Greater Elasticity")
Researchers have grown arteries that show higher levels of elasticity of natural blood vessels.
But it is a complicated task. Scientists need to prompt stem cells to become kidney, liver or lung cells, which must then recreate the complex anatomy of a real organ in order to function in a human recipient.
The first part of this chain has proved most challenging, especially in organs composed of a multitude of different cell types. The kidney, for example, has more than 20.
In the new study, published in the journal Nature, the team managed to transform iPS cells into two different adult cell types.
Long Way To Go
The resulting organoids sported different tissue types and were "similar" to the kidney of a human embryo, the researchers reported.
The work represented "an important step towards building stem-cell-derived kidneys," University of Edinburgh anatomy expert Jamie Davies wrote in a comment, also published by Nature.
But he stressed the product was "not a kidney, but an organoid".
"There is a long way to go until clinically useful transplantable kidneys can be engineered," Davies said.
But the organoids may fulfil a completely different medical need -- testing the safety for humans of new drugs.
"The cell types that are most vulnerable to damage by drugs are present in the organoids," said Davies.
Stem cells are primitive cells that, as they grow, differentiate into the various specialized cells that make up the different organs -- the brain, the heart, the kidney, and so on.
Until a few years ago, when iPS cells were created, the only way to obtain stem cells was to harvest them from human embryos. This was controversial as it required the destruction of the embryo.
Other teams of scientists have also reported growing "organoid" stomachs, livers, retinas and brain and heart tissue from pluripotent stem cells in the lab.
Source: AFP
Lab Grown Arteries Exhibit Greater Elasticity
Researchers have grown arteries that show higher levels of elasticity of natural blood vessels.
Advertisement
But it is a complicated task. Scientists need to prompt stem cells to become kidney, liver or lung cells, which must then recreate the complex anatomy of a real organ in order to function in a human recipient.
The first part of this chain has proved most challenging, especially in organs composed of a multitude of different cell types. The kidney, for example, has more than 20.
In the new study, published in the journal Nature, the team managed to transform iPS cells into two different adult cell types.
Long Way To Go
The resulting organoids sported different tissue types and were "similar" to the kidney of a human embryo, the researchers reported.
The work represented "an important step towards building stem-cell-derived kidneys," University of Edinburgh anatomy expert Jamie Davies wrote in a comment, also published by Nature.
But he stressed the product was "not a kidney, but an organoid".
"There is a long way to go until clinically useful transplantable kidneys can be engineered," Davies said.
But the organoids may fulfil a completely different medical need -- testing the safety for humans of new drugs.
"The cell types that are most vulnerable to damage by drugs are present in the organoids," said Davies.
Stem cells are primitive cells that, as they grow, differentiate into the various specialized cells that make up the different organs -- the brain, the heart, the kidney, and so on.
Until a few years ago, when iPS cells were created, the only way to obtain stem cells was to harvest them from human embryos. This was controversial as it required the destruction of the embryo.
Other teams of scientists have also reported growing "organoid" stomachs, livers, retinas and brain and heart tissue from pluripotent stem cells in the lab.
Source: AFP
Lab Grown Implanted Neurons Assume Control of Brain Circuitry
Determining if transplanted cells can functionally integrate into target organs or tissues is crucial even before clarifying if human embryonic stem cells can achieve their therapeutic potential.
Advertisement
 Scientists Use Stem Cells to Grow Human Heart TissueScientists have been able to grow human heart tissue that contracts spontaneously in a petri dish. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Research News
Is there a connection between Osteoporosis and dementia? Yes, loss in bone density may be linked to an increased risk of dementia in older age.
Link between chromosome length and biological aging marker discovered. The finding helps explain why people with longer telomeres have a lower dementia risk.
Integrated structural biology helps discover how the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) works.
Link between advanced paternal age and higher risks for reproductive and offspring medical problems has been discovered.
Can gene astrology predict disease risk? Yes, your genes can determine your future health and disease risk.