Embryonic SCs make kidneys in embryonic mice

[Bhaskar]

Embryonic Stem Cells Grow Kidneys in Mice, Study Says (Update1)
By Simeon Bennett

June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Researchers at the University of Tokyo used stem cells from a mouse embryo to grow kidneys in mice lacking the organs, a step toward creating human body parts for transplant patients.

Scientists led by Hiromitsu Nakauchi at the university's Laboratory of Stem Cell Therapy injected embryonic stem cells into juvenile mouse embryos lacking a crucial gene needed to grow kidneys. Once implanted into the uterus, the embryos grew into fetuses with kidneys. Kidneys were grown in three mice. One had minor abnormalities. The others seemed normal, Nakauchi said.

The research may spur the production of replacement organs that would avoid the need for patients to wait for life-saving transplants. About 100,000 people are waiting for donors in the U.S., the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network said on its Web site. Kidneys are the most needed body parts, followed by livers, lungs and hearts.

"If it works, it's quite important and could contribute a lot,'' Nakauchi said in an interview yesterday after presenting his research to the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in Cairns, Australia.

Embryonic stem cells are among the first cells created after conception. Because they can turn into other types of cells, scientists are investigating their use to replace damaged or missing tissue in the brain, heart and immune system and cure debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Researchers say those uses remain years away.
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