By Japanese technology, human organs can be grown in animals
Last reviewed: 30.05.2018
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Professor Hiromitsu Nakauti will head the new research project on the cultivation of human organs. The uniqueness of the new project is that Japanese experts are planning in the near future an experiment to grow human organs in the body of animals, namely in pigs. According to the researchers themselves, if the project is successful, then the use of such technology will become possible in the next decade.
Scientists shared their plans for future experiments. The first step in the experimental work will be to change the DNA of the embryo of the animal so that the pancreas does not develop in the individual. Then the embryo with human stem cells induced will be introduced into the body of an adult female pig. Experts suggest that human cells adapt to the body of the animal, and eventually the pig will develop a functioning pancreas.
Also, scientists noted that if the experiment is completed successfully, then it will be impossible to use the whole organ for transplantation, but this technology will allow growing certain pancreatic cells that correspond to the level of insulin.
The main purpose of the experiment is to determine the most suitable conditions for the tissues or organs necessary for normal growth, which are subsequently suitable for human transplantation.
In addition, in their study, scientists will try to create another human organ - the liver, which will allow developing new methods of treating cancerous tumors. Experts will also try new types of medicines on organ-grown organs.
Great attention was given to stem cells after Professor Sinya Yamanaka of Japan received a Nobel Prize for research work in this field three years ago. And interest in regenerative medicine appeared not only among scientists and ordinary citizens, but also in government structures.
It is regeneration that has become one of the important directions in science and medicine, but in Japan legislation prohibits the use of animals for the cultivation of organs. The research project of Professor Nakauti was also banned, for this reason, all the works will be held at the private research university. Leland of Stanford (California).
It is worth noting that, after a certain chemical effect, induced pluripotent stem cells can develop into cells of any type. Theoretically, such organs or tissues can form from such stem cells, but transplantation of such organs into the human body significantly increases the risk of developing cancerous tumors.
For the first time in 1895, Thomas Morgan conducting experiments on frogs, observed that when removing a part of the cells of embryos at the stage of fragmentation of the zygote, the remaining cells can restore the whole embryo. This discovery meant that such cells can change in the process of development, and this process can be controlled.
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