Stanford University develops new technique for growing chimpanzee stem cells

A new technique developed at Stanford University to grow chimpanzee stem cells may lay the groundwork for eventually growing human organs in animals

One of the most promising and least successful approaches is to develop human organs in animals

To show that this approach works, one needs to show that human stem cells (which can grow into specialized cells and parts of the body, including organs) can survive in the early embryos of animals, which act as a kind of biological incubator

Instead, the team has turned to nonhuman primate cells as proxies

Other research teams have also tried this approach without success

A paper describing the team's findings was published Aug.

A door that was once closed is now half closed

For years, scientists have pursued the prospect of creating human organs in animals—many even consider it the holy grail of organ production

It is possible to make rat pancreas in mice

However, primates and rodents are biologically distinct, so scientists need to replicate rodent results in primates

Roodgar's new technique, which fine-tunes the genetic activity of chimpanzee stem cells to make them more stable, opens the door to this research and opens up possibilities for continued exploration

The biggest win, Roodgar said, was the viability of the non-human primate cells the team demonstrated in early embryos, which were more like a blob of cells than anything resembling a living organ or animal

While this proof-of-principle finding is exciting, it is too early to know whether the viability observed in chimeric embryos bodes well for an approach to personalized organ transplantation

moral progress

The research team will explore whether stem cells in chimeric embryos can acquire new cellular properties and create different tissues

In addition to being a center for studying human organ formation, high-quality stem cells could benefit chimpanzees

Roodgar emphasized that the research is incremental