What Are Organoids? Stem Cells From Terminated Pregnancies Grown Into Mini-Organs

Researchers want to learn the final stages of pregnancy. They made huge progress by growing organoids.

What Are Organoids?

Organoids are developed using human stem cells, and their morphology can be altered to mimic that of embryonic tissues. By studying human embryo development at the tissue level, the mini-organs enable researchers to understand a range of developmental abnormalities and possible treatments.

There are several ethical and legal issues because the majority of these stem cells were taken from pregnancies that were aborted. Furthermore, it restricts study to the latter phases of pregnancy by making these cells accessible only until around 22 weeks after conception. But all of this might be about to change.

In a recent study, researchers at the University College London researchers have shown that it is possible to obtain these cells from the amniotic fluid, which is the fluid that surrounds the developing fetus.

The amniotic fluid, which comes into contact with the developing fetus, includes quantifiable fetal cells. These cells can be removed from the fluid and cultivated in a laboratory to produce miniature organ models without contacting the infant. This would enable researchers to access and examine fetal stem cells non-invasively in the latter stages of pregnancy.

The researchers saw the proliferation and self-organization of these isolated cells into model organoids in as little as two weeks. Specifically, these organoids developed to mimic kidney, lung, and small intestine tissue; they even displayed functional characteristics of the original tissues.

"This work represents a surprising advancement in stem cell technology to grow organoids from cells obtained from amniotic fluid," Shota Nakanoh, a postdoctoral researcher in the epigenetics research program at the Babraham Institute who was not involved in the research, said in a statement.

Nakanoh noted that certain cell types might be more difficult than others to develop into model organoids; the study's findings were nonetheless intriguing.

In a statement, Roger Sturmey, a professor of reproductive medicine at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, stated that doctors could use the established procedure known as amniocentesis to extract amniotic fluid during pregnancy to look for specific conditions.

Sturmey noted that these miniature organ models were replicas of particular tissues rather than full human organs.

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Benefits of Studying Organoids

These organoids, developed from human stem cells, can genetically alter their tissues to resemble fetuses. The miniature organs allow scientists to examine human embryo development at the tissue level, shedding light on various developmental abnormalities and possible therapies.

Unfortunately, the majority of these stem cells have been taken from pregnancies that have been aborted, which presents several ethical and legal issues. Additionally, it restricts study into the later phases of pregnancy by limiting access to these cells to approximately 22 weeks after conception. However, all of this could soon alter.

According to Sturmey, the cells that line many organs are called epithelial cells, and in this study's organoids, these cells gave rise to an organ. Typically, organoids only comprise a subset of the cell types in an entire organ. The group used fetal cells in the amniotic fluid to create organoids resembling intestine, kidney, and lung tissue.

According to Sturmey, the new research allows scientists to investigate how important organs develop and function in the growing baby without needing to take tissue directly from a developing fetus. Usually, this can only be obtained from tissue donated for research after a pregnancy has ended.

The study may also provide insight into "early origins of adult disease by highlighting what happens when key tissues' cells within fetuses malfunction," the researcher continued.

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