Lab Mouse Embryo Grown from Stem Cells Features a Nervous System and Heartbeat

A mouse embryo has just been grown in a laboratory from stem cells. The breakthrough mouse features a gut, nervous system, developing muscles, and a beating heart at the University of Virginia. Researchers believe that the discovery could propel organ growth research forward.

Scientists developed the cells by weaving various types of cells together, allowing it to be the first-ever in vitro model of a mammalian embryo with several tissues built from stem cells, according to a press release in MedicalXpress.

Stem Cells Grown Lab Mouse

The new mammalian model developed at the University of Virginia School of Medicine was led by Christine Thisse describes the achievement in a study published in the journal Nature Communications, entitled "Construction of a mammalian embryo model from stem cells organized by a morphogen signaling centre."

The study is a major step forward in efforts to mimic the natural development of cells in mammals using stem cells. The existence of the stem cell grown lab mouse will help researchers further understand the development of mammalian cells, combat diseases, create medicinal drugs, and eventually lead to tissue growth and organ transplants in humans.

The new mouse model includes the first-ever complete notochord, a cartilaginous skeletal rod that supports the body in all embryos and is a defining trait of vertebrates, as reported by DailyMailUK.

Christine Thisse, lead author and a Ph.D. of UVA's Department of Cell Biology, says that the team found a way to instruct stem cells to initiate embryonic development. In response to the instruction, the aggregate stem cells developed into an embryo-like species in a process known to recapitulate the embryo one by one.

Thisse adds that the significance of the stem cell mouse embryo is similar to human organs that are composed of multiple cell types originating from different parts of the embryo as it grows.

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Significance and Potential of Stem Cells

Stem cells are known for their special quality of turning other cell types into new functions. Some stem cells turn into human bones, nerves, or the heart. Scientists have long been eager to understand and harness the potential of stem cells and apply it to advance medical research.

On the other hand, building sophisticated models with several cell types has proved to be incredibly difficult for today's researchers. It is easier to direct the formation of a single cell type in a petri dish than to orchestrate multiple layers of cell types, similar to how organisms develop in nature. To achieve this, researchers had to collaborate and overcome many challenges that are being faced in the field of stem cell research.

Thisses' new mouse embryo model is notable due to its sophistication. It is the first-ever in vitro model of mammalian embryos with so many tissues constructed from stem cells. The team at the University of Virginia hopes that the first lab-grown mouse embryo from stem cells will help future researchers devise efficient ways to artificially grow human organs and propel medical advancements to a brighter future.