Recently, a large group of biologists from the USA, Spain and Japan - 37 people - appeared in the authoritative scientific journal Cell with a report on their almost fantastic experiments. They talked about how they managed to "cross" a mouse with a rat and a man with a pig. The results are chimeras. That is, hybrids are a kind of cross between two different creatures. Some grew and developed only in the womb. Others were born.
Nightmare? Not at all. The goals are the best. As scientists assure, thanks to their experiments, biologists will someday learn to grow human organs inside animals. For example, the same pigs with hearts, lungs, livers from human tissues. Moreover, from the tissues of the patient who needs to replace something. As a result, animal organs will be donated. After all, the primordially human for transplants is sorely lacking.
To begin with, these 37 biologists, led by Juan Belmonte of the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in San Diego, crossed mice with rats. They "edited" the embryos of mice - they deprived them of genes that are responsible for the development of basic organs. These edited embryos were then implanted with rat stem cells. And these "constructions" were transplanted to female mice, which they carried.
Scientists have seen how many rat cells have taken root in the mouse body and in what places
Since rat stem cells had the ability to transform into any organs, they did. As a result, mice with rat organs were born.
Living chimera in person: a mouse with rat organs inside
Promotional video:
Crossbreeding between a pig and a human was the next step. The embryos were taken from pigs. The stem cells that were injected into them were human - pretreated so that they produce a glowing - fluorescent - protein. With its help, it was supposed to monitor the results - to see how the pig will be "humanized".
The embryos “charged” with stem cells were transplanted into sows. After three to four weeks, they were removed from the womb, examined and destroyed. For ethical reasons. Like, you never know what will be born if you bring the process to the end.
Interspecies crossing is possible, biologists have proven
Photo: salk.edu
In total, 1400 embryos and dozens of sows from one of the largest farms in Japan "took part" in the experiments.
Hybrids turned out. Although not as complete as we would like. Humanity in developing embryos was at best 10 cells per million.
A COMMENT
It's too early to grunt happily
As the candidate of biological sciences Andrei Afanasyev, who read the publication in Cell, explained to me, the attitude to the results obtained now is not unambiguous. Some, of course, consider them very encouraging, believe that colleagues are on the right track: sooner or later some human organ inside the pig will surely grow. Or inside a sheep. Or inside a cow. These animals are also considered as potential donors. Although pigs are still considered the best. Their organs are most suitable for humans in size and shape.
But many doubt the success. It is believed that very modest results are unlikely to be significantly improved. If only because the rates of tissue development in pigs and humans are different. Our smaller brothers and sisters develop them much faster. And you have to try hard to choose the most suitable moment to "charge" the pig embryo with human stem cells. And who knows if he exists at all?
Still others believe that such experiments - especially successful ones - are dangerous. Since with organs grown inside animals, a person will also get susceptibility to inhuman diseases.
And, finally, there is an opinion that current research has no prospects: scientists will never get permission for a hybrid - a large animal with human organs - to be born. For ethical reasons.
REFERENCE
What a chimera?
The topmost photo and the bottom one show not living things, but the creations of the Australian artist and sculptor Patricia Piccinini (Melbourne sculptor Patricia Piccinini). She works in the genre of hyper-realism. And he really surprises the audience with his sculptures. In the galleries of different countries, you can see the creatures she created. They are creepy, but not as fantastic as they might seem. Most of the figures demonstrate what the intelligent inhabitants of the Earth could look like if evolution went somehow sideways. Or quirks. Or if it was tweaked by scientists from among those who undertook to create chimeras.
Another version of a cross between a man and a pig as presented by Patricia Piccinini
Patricia "sculpts" sculptures from silicone, polyurethane, fiberglass, leather, animal hair and human hair. Some of her other works can be viewed in the material Scientists have understood what the driver of the future should look like.
Vladimir LAGOVSKY
