Advances in research on a little-known phase of embryonic development: some genes that instruct cells to form organs have been identified. It is the first time that we have reached this stage in an “artificial” way
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, led by Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, a biologist at both institutions, created in a “synthetic” way from stem cells a mouse embryo with a heart button and a piece of brain.
The genes that drive training
The importance of this work, published today in Nature, derives precisely from the word “synthetic,” artificial “: embryos are usually created in vitro with artificial fertilization between an egg cell and a sperm, in this case, however, the “departure” of the embryo comes from stem cells.
“It is an important and interesting work: it advances the molecular dissection of the knowledge of the formation of an embryo and it does avoiding ethical problems because he is using stem cells ”, comments al Health Courier
Carlo Alberto Redi, Professor of Zoology and Developmental Biology at the University of Pavia and member of the Accademia dei Lincei. “In addition – adds the expert – this study advances the knowledge of molecular genetics on the early development of embryos, a still little known stage of embryonic development: it manages to tell us what are some genes capable of regulating how cells come together to form an embryo. There are three types of cells that make up all of us (endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm), stem cells can develop into almost any cell type in the body: the working group he found the genes that regulate how cells stick to each other to form organs (a beating heart and a piece of brain, specifically) and then the embryo ».
Culture medium for heart and brain
So far in the in vivo or in vitro observation of this process, only a few genes were known. Now, by controlling these genes, we can put together the three types of cells that make up organs and arrive at an embryo. “A synthetic embryo at this stage of development is the first time it is obtained – underlines Redi and continues -, not only: the team has found the right culture medium, the “broth” we say, where to put these cells, which, not being in a uterus, must find a suitable soil to grow. In this case the mixture in which to immerse the cells was able to form a heart and a piece of the brain ».
Developments over the years on transplants and pregnancies
The findings are the culmination of more than a decade of study and could help researchers understand why some embryos fail while others turn into a fetus in a healthy pregnancy. Additionally, the findings could be used to guide the repair and development of “synthetic” human organs suitable for transplantation. Although current research has been conducted in mouse models, scientists are setting up a similar environment for human embryo development to understand the mechanisms underlying crucial processes that would otherwise be impossible to study in real embryos.
August 25, 2022 (change August 25, 2022 | 20:17)
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