Erythrocytes from a test tube have successfully taken root in the human body
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Erythrocytes, grown under artificial conditions from the stem cells of the blood, normally ripen and take root in humans after they are introduced back into the body.
Erythrocytes from a test tube successfully take root in the human body, which was first shown by a group of researchers from several French research institutes. The experiment of scientists was as follows: they took hematopoietic cells from an adult and cultivated them in an artificial environment, directing development towards red blood cells.
All our blood cells originate from common stem cells that hide in the bone marrow and thymus. Of these, leukocytes, platelets, and erythrocytes are obtained . Under experimental conditions, stem cells can be "fed" with certain regulatory proteins, growth factors that will launch a differentiation program in the progenitor cells.
The situation is complicated by the fact that, it is believed, cells in the test tube can only mature to a certain level, not to the end. The hypothesis of the researchers was that such immature erythrocytes would perfectly "reach" already directly in the body. Preliminary experiments in mice confirmed the correctness of the assumption: red blood cells successfully completed their development after the introduction of animals into the body. Then the scientists decided to check the results already in clinical trials.
Erythrocytes grown from the human stem cell were introduced back to the same donor. Five days after the injection of "artificial" erythrocytes, 94-100% remained alive, in about 26 days - about half. If we consider that the half-life of normal red blood cells in human blood is 28 days, the result is close to ideal. It should be emphasized that until now no one has been tested whether these red blood cells will survive after they are introduced back into the body, whether they will begin to conflict with its protective systems. The results of the experiment, the researchers describe in detail in the journal Blood.
The data that the artificially obtained red blood cells successfully take root in the human body, appeared on time. Physicians recently are very worried: the blood banks are beginning to dwindle, the World Health Organization reports that the number of donors in many countries is less than 1% of the total population. In general, the results of French researchers will certainly help to solve the problem with donors, as well as in a number of cases, relieve doctors of the headache associated with the compatibility of donor blood.
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