By NewsBlogger One sentence summary – Scientists have made a groundbreaking advancement in prenatal medicine by growing “mini organs” using human stem cells extracted during pregnancy, allowing for the observation of human development in late pregnancy and offering new possibilities for monitoring and treating congenital conditions before birth.
At a glance
- Scientists have grown “mini-organs” using human stem cells extracted during pregnancy, allowing for observation of human development in late pregnancy.
- Organoids retain the baby’s biological information and enable the study of organ function in health and disease.
- Researchers have found a loophole to extract stem cells from amniotic fluid for studying fetal development and testing new treatments.
- Live cells were obtained from 12 pregnancies, and stem cells were extracted from lungs, kidneys, and intestines. This revealed developmental disparities in organoids from babies with congenital conditions.
- This advancement in prenatal medicine offers potential for functional assessments of congenital conditions before birth, revolutionizing the field and improving outcomes for unborn babies.
The details
Scientists have recently made a groundbreaking advancement in prenatal medicine by growing “mini-organs” using human stem cells extracted during pregnancy.
This development allows for the observation of human development in late pregnancy for the first time, offering new possibilities for monitoring and treating congenital conditions before birth.
The complex cell models, known as organoids, retain the baby’s biological information and enable the study of organ function in both health and disease.
Regulations and Research
Despite regulations restricting the acquisition of foetal samples, researchers have managed to work around these limitations by using a loophole that allows for the extraction of stem cells from amniotic fluid without physically touching the child.
This innovative approach has opened new doors for studying foetal development, modeling disease progression, and testing new treatments.
Study Findings
In a recent study, live cells were obtained from 12 pregnancies occurring between the 16th and 34th week, successfully extracting stem cells from lungs, kidneys, and intestines.
Organoids derived from babies with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) were compared to those from healthy babies, revealing significant developmental disparities.
However, post-treatment organoids showed closer similarities to healthy ones, providing insight into the effectiveness of treatments at a cellular level.
This advancement represents a significant leap forward in prenatal medicine, offering the potential for functional assessments of a child’s congenital condition before birth.
The ability to study functional prenatal organoids marks the initial step toward providing more detailed prognoses and effective treatments for various conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, kidney disorders, and intestinal diseases.
Ultimately, this method has the potential to revolutionize the field of prenatal medicine and improve outcomes for unborn babies with congenital conditions.
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independent.co.uk
- Scientists have grown "mini organs" using human stem cells taken during pregnancy
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This could be a breakthrough for prenatal medicine
- Human development can be observed in late pregnancy for the first time
- This raises the possibility of monitoring and treating congenital conditions before birth
- Complex cell models called organoids have been grown
- Organoids retain the baby's biological information
- Organoids enable the study of organ function in health and disease
- Regulations restrict when foetal samples can be obtained
- Researchers used a loophole to get around restrictions
- Organoids have been derived from adult stem cells or post-termination foetal tissue until now
- Stem cells were extracted from amniotic fluid to grow the mini organs
- Sampling restrictions can be overcome as the child is not touched during the collection process
- Mini organs will facilitate monitoring of foetal development, disease progression modeling, and testing new treatments
- Researchers took live cells from 12 pregnancies between the 16th and 34th week
- Stem cells from lungs, kidneys, and intestine were successfully extracted
- Organoids from babies with CDH were compared to healthy babies
- Significant developmental differences were found between healthy and pre-treatment CDH organoids
- Post-treatment organoids were closer to healthy ones
- This provides an estimate of treatment effectiveness at a cellular level
- This is a huge step forward for prenatal medicine
- Functional assessment of a child's congenital condition before birth is now possible
- The ability to study functional prenatal organoids is the first step towards offering a more detailed prognosis and effective treatments
- The method could potentially be studied in relation to other conditions like cystic fibrosis, kidneys, and intestine.
