PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsTiny human livers grown from stem cells functional in mice

BioNews

Tiny human livers grown from stem cells functional in mice

Published 8 July 2013 posted in News and appears in BioNews 712

Author

James Brooks

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).

Stem cells generated from adult cells have been used to grow tiny 'liver buds' which were then successfully transplanted into mice...

Stem cells generated from adult cells have been used to grow
tiny 'liver buds' which were then successfully transplanted into mice.

After transplantation the buds hooked up to the mice's blood
supply, matured and were ultimately able to break down drugs given to the mice -
a sign that they were working.

Experts were quick to applaud a development which, if
confirmed, would be an immense step forward in regenerative medicine. While
other body parts have already been grown and used clinically (see BioNews 485), solid organs like
the liver are the most difficult to generate from stem cells. At the same time,
there is a great need for therapies for such complex organ systems which do not rely entirely on organ donation.

While scientific commentators were unanimous in their praise
for the paper, most were cautious in anticipating any immediate benefits for
patients.

'Although the promise of an off-shelf-liver seems much
closer than one could hope even a year ago', Dr Dusko Ilic, reader
in stem cell science at King's College London said, 'the paper is only a
proof-of-concept. There is much unknown and it will take years before it could
be applied in regenerative medicine'.

The team behind the research, led by scientists at Yokohama
City University, were trying to mimic the conditions of early liver growth in
the embryo in their experiments. For this, they used human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, originally generated from donated adult tissue, and coaxed them into
becoming liver cells.

These were then mixed with two other kinds of cells,
including from human umbilical cords. Professor Takanori Takebe told BBC News that he was 'completely gobsmacked' to see the cells 'self-organising to form a
three-dimensional liver bud - this is a rudimentary human liver'.

The buds developed their own blood vessels and on being injected
under the skin of lab mice connected to the mice's blood supply. Once
transplanted, the buds grew from their embryonic state into what appeared to be
adult liver tissue.

To check whether the liver buds worked, the scientists gave
two groups of transplant mice two different drugs. Blood tests showed breakdown
products, or metabolites, that could only be made by human liver and not mouse
liver.

In a further experiment, groups of normal and transplant mice were
given injections of diphtheria toxin in their tails. As expected, all the
normal, 'control' mice suffered liver failure and died within 10 days. Several
of the transplant mice, however, survived for over 40 days.

The scientists say that they would like to test liver bud injections in liver failure patients. In a change from previously envisaged
therapies, the liver buds would not replace the diseased liver but sit nearby
in the abdomen and support liver function.

But Professor Chris Mason, chair of regenerative medicine
bioprocessing at University College London, who was not involved in the study,
suggested that the liver buds' first application may be not in a clinical setting but
in drug testing.

The kinds of cells currently used in metabolism and toxicity
testing of new drugs, Professor Mason said, 'are only available in very limited
quantities, insufficient for routine early stage research'.

'However, from Takebe’s data, mice transplanted with human
iPS cell-liver buds might help developers predict drug metabolite profiles for
patients and thus enable early stage detection of unwanted side effects rather
than later during clinical trials, or worse, after the drug enters routine
clinical practice'.

The study was published in the journal Nature.

Related Articles

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
6 November 2015 • 2 minutes read

Human stem cells 'printed' in 3D

by Jessica Richardson

Scientists have reported on a method that allows successful 3D bioprinting of adult stem cells...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
31 October 2014 • 2 minutes read

Mini human stomach grown from stem cells for first time

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

Scientists in the USA have for the first time created three-dimensional stomach tissue from human pluripotent stem cells...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
24 October 2014 • 2 minutes read

Miniature human stem-cell-derived gut grown in mice

by Siobhan Chan

A section of functioning human intestine has been transplanted into mice, giving scientists a new model with which to study intestinal diseases...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
28 February 2014 • 2 minutes read

Stem cells move scientists closer to 'Holy Grail for liver biologists'

by Dr Naqash Raja

'Mini livers' grown from mouse stem cells could reduce the need for laboratory testing on animals, thanks to research from the University of Cambridge....

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
2 August 2013 • 2 minutes read

Stem cells from human urine used to grow teeth in mice

by Dr Rosie Morley

Scientists have grown tooth-like structures in the lab using stem cells derived from human urine combined with embryonic mouse cells...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
28 June 2013 • 2 minutes read

Japan's health ministry approves pluripotent stem cell research

by Rhys Baker

A Japanese Health Ministry panel has approved the first use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) in human trials...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
21 June 2013 • 2 minutes read

Japan moves toward human-animal embryo experimentation

by Sarah Pritchard

Researchers in Japan are one step closer to being able to implant human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into an animal embryo. Their aim is to grow a fully-grown human pancreas in an animal, a pig, and ultimately harvest and transplant such organs into patients...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
14 June 2013 • 2 minutes read

Stem cells could help amputated fingertips regrow

by Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi

Stem cells in the nail bed may be the key to regenerating amputated fingertips, if a study on mice is anything to go by...

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
6 March 2013 • 2 minutes read

Eye precursor and tiny liver grown from stem cells

by Dr Daniel Grimes

Human embryonic stem cells have, for the first time, been used to grow a crucial part of the eye, a paper in Cell Stem Cell reports. It is hoped that in the future transplantation of such tissue could help visually impaired people recover their sight...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« First baby born from 'cheaper' gene sequencing of IVF embryos

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Common virus may be cause of recent hepatitis cases in children

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Male age has more impact on IVF birth rate than previously thought

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

CRISPR genome editing treatments may raise cancer risk

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Differences in IVF-conceived children's size disappear by adolescence

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856