14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists in Scotland claim to have successfully grown an intact, fully functional organ inside a living animal. Apart from being a world first, this achievement is hailed as a major breakthrough for regenerative medicine.
In a recent paper in the journal Nature Cell Biology, the University of Edinburgh specialists behind this researcher project detail that their little experiment boiled down to growing a thymus organ inside a laboratory mouse.
Despite the fact that it's nowhere near as popular as the brain, the liver, the lungs or the like, the thymus organ is actually quite important. Specifically, it helps ensure that a living organism is well equipped to handle infections and diseases.
The thymus organ does so by producing T cells, whose working agenda boils down to patrolling the body in search of cells gone haywire and signs of infections, and to triggering an immune response when coming across one threat or another.
As detailed in the journal Nature Cell Biology, the University of Edinburgh scientists started by harvesting cells from a mouse embryo. These cells were then coerced to turn into building blocks of the thymus organ.
Together with supporting cells, these genetically engineered ones were transplanted into a living mouse. Here, they grew to form a fully functional thymus. According to Medical News Today, it took about 4 weeks for the organ to form.
The thymus that the scientists managed to grow inside a living organism for the first time ever not only had the same structure as the naturally occurring organs of this type found in animals, but was also able to produce T cells, information shared with the public says.
“By directly reprogramming cells, we've managed to produce an artificial cell type that, when transplanted, can form a fully organized and functional organ,” study leader Clare Blackburn told the press in an interview concerning this experiment and its outcome.
Although it will be a while until information obtained while carrying out this research project is used to treat human patients, the University of Edinburgh scientists are confident that their breakthrough will one day help develop better treatment options for various conditions.
As specialist Clare Blackburn put it, “This is an important first step towards the goal of generating a clinically useful artificial thymus in the lab. The ability to grow replacement organs from cells in the lab is one of the 'holy grails' in regenerative medicine. But the size and complexity of lab-grown organs has so far been limited.”
Should you have a few minutes to spare, be sure to check out the video below to learn more about this research project and how it stands to change the face of regenerative medicine.
