Discovering the earliest conversations between tissues in emerging life can tell us a lot about organ development, fertility, and disease in general. It could help prevent early miscarriages, or even tell us how to grow replacement organs from scratch.
In a monumental leap forward in stem cell research, an experiment led by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK has created a living mouse embryo model complete with beating heart tissue and the beginnings of a brain.
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The research builds on the recent success of a team that included some of the same scientists who pushed the boundaries of mimicking mouse embryo development using stem cells that had never been inside a mouse uterus.
In the past, embryology researchers have focused primarily on extracting selected stem cells from the parts of the embryo that will develop into an animal and encouraging them to proliferate in glass vials filled with specially selected nutrients.
Over the years, this procedure has resulted in groups of cells that form the basic rudimentary structure of the intestine and a layer of tissue called the neural tube.
What happens in the so-called ‘gastroloid’ model, however, is the lack of work. Many of the features that develop along with these tissues are missing, making it difficult to match the model to a true growing embryo.
There are ways to induce brain-like structures, as well as the functioning of heart tissue and a more complex intestinal tube. However, a job based on a relatively simple hormone soup can not do much.
Whether it’s a rat or a mouse, a human or a horse, all placental mammals start life the same way. Shortly after fertilization, the first cell divides until three basic domains of tissue remain: one that goes to create the animal itself, and two that contribute to the organs that belong to the mother, facilitating their growth inside.
While the former can produce a model embryo (or embryoid) on its own, the presence of the other two groups of placental cells in close proximity provides the necessary chemical interactions that promote small changes in the developing animal.
By combining representative stem cells from these three main tissue groups and improving on previous methods of growing them in vitro (ie, in a dish) into an embryoid, the team found that their model could grow on its own. nervous system. A wild-type mouse embryo at 8.5 days post-gestation.
This step is small, equivalent to just one day of development for an unborn mouse. Be that as it may, a ton can occur in those 24 hours of pregnancy.
The artificial embryo also contains rudimentary heart tissue that has a heartbeat and the beginnings of intestines, as well as the beginnings of structures that can form the skeleton, muscles, and other tissues under the skin in a real embryo.
On its own, the model will not continue to develop into a developing baby mouse. Science has not been able to create anything as advanced as a functional organ from stem cells alone, let alone an entire animal.
While this similarity is significant in research, it is, so to speak, only skin deep, lacking the cues that would see it transform into a fully formed organism.
Having a tissue collection that authentically reflects growth outside of an organism gives researchers the opportunity not only to observe, but also to ethically examine the genetic changes that occur as our bodies develop.
“This time of human existence is so baffling, so to witness it on a plate, to approach these singular immature microorganisms, to comprehend the reason why such countless pregnancies flop and how to keep it from working out, is quite special.” says Magdalena Zernica Goetz, a developmental biologist at the University of Cambridge in the UK.
The researchers note that there is already evidence of ways they can improve the process to better mimic natural growth.
Of course, the philosophical question of when a ‘close copy’ becomes ‘too close’ is already being debated by a UK lawmaker, who has limited the development of human embryos in the laboratory to just 14 days.
With future research on modifying mouse cells to advance the development of existing human embryos, this is a challenging question that will be addressed separately.
Given the prizes at stake, it is important to strike a balance even in fields outside of embryology.
“There are many people around the world who wait years for an organ transplant,” Zernicka says.
