The scientists of the Weitman Institute in Israel found a method for cultivating human stem cells at an earlier stage of development than it was possible before. In the future, this will allow cultivating organs suitable for transplantation between species. This is reported in an article published in the Cell Stem Cell magazine.
Griving stem cells have a powerful potential to transform other tissues and organs into cells, which significantly increases the chances of creating interspecific chimeras when the cells of one organism are introduced into the embryo of another organism. Thus, naive human stem cells can be embedded in mice, where they can develop in any type of cells, including other stem cells.
The introduced cells usually suffer from serious epigenetic instability, and are not too efficiently differentiated. Only about 1-3 percent of cells can be transferred between the species. To increase this indicator, scientists blocked several signaling paths to obtain naive human stem cells having a stable genome. Such cells are capable of transforming off extragram fabrics that support developing embryo.
Researchers also develop a protocol to improve cell integration into the body. The results can be used in the future for cell transplantation (or even organs) from one animal to another, including people.