Rats that have had human cells transplanted into them to form a “mini-brain” may one day help scientists treat brain injuries.
A team of researchers recently took human brain tissue and grafted it into rats’ brains. Within weeks, the human cells formed part of the neural system of the rats’ brains.
Scientists believe a similar procedure may be possible to help humans with brain injuries.
Doing this in humans will mean taking skin cells from a patient and blending them into “induced stem cells” before implanting them in the patient.
But before getting excited at the potential behind the breakthrough, the team warned the work is still in early development, The Times reported.
“We focused on not just transplanting individual cells, but actually transplanting tissue,” said Professor Isaac Chen, the University of Pennsylvania’s senior author of the study.
“Brain organoids have architecture; they have structure that resembles the brain. We were able to look at individual neurons within this structure to gain a deeper understanding of the integration of transplanted organoids.”
The “mini-brain” was formed by taking the human tissue and allowing it to grow in a lab for 80 days. From there it was injected into the visual cortex of the rats. Within 90 days the human cells had integrated with the rat brains.
“We were not expecting to see this degree of functional integration so early,” Chen said.
“Neural tissues have the potential to rebuild areas of the injured brain. We haven’t worked everything out, but this is a very solid first step.”
Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
Pictured above: A common lab rat
Image source: iStock
