Chinese scientists “created” a monkey composed of cells from different embryos. It is the first living chimera of such a large animal, reports a group of scientists in the scientific journal “Cell”. Previously, comparable successes had only been achieved in mice and rats.
Scientists led by Zhen Liu from the Cebsit Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai created the animal from stem cells from genetically different embryos. They hope that specially produced monkey chimeras can facilitate biomedical research. A chimera that was born alive is, according to scientists, a “milestone”.
A study conducted on cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) provides new insight into stem cells in primates, including humans. All cells in the body can develop from pluripotent stem cells.
Scientists removed stem cells from several embryos at a very early stage (seven days after fertilization) and introduced genes for green fluorescent protein into them. This made it possible to later recognize which body cells had developed from those stem cells that had been injected into another monkey embryo. The injection took place in embryos that consisted of only 16 or 32 cells.
Stem cells injected into the embryo usually multiplied initially but often died as they continued to develop. The researchers hypothesized that this may be due to competition between the embryonic stem cells and the injected stem cells. In the case of the only successful live birth, 206 stem cell injections were performed. Only twelve embryos developed enough to be implanted into female monkeys. Of the six monkeys born alive, only one had the characteristics of a chimera. However, it died after only ten days. Additionally, one fetus from a miscarriage had chimeric features.
Cell, Cao et al Green fluorescent protein visualized which parts of the body developed from injected stem cells
In the initially living monkey, various body tissues developed partly from the original embryonic stem cells and partly from injected stem cells. The percentage of cells with green fluorescent protein ranged from 21 to 92 percent, with an average of 67 percent. The 26 tissues analyzed included clusters of cells from the brain, heart, kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract. Large numbers of cells that developed from the injected stem cells were also found in the monkey’s testes and placenta.
“This should be considered a fundamental scientific breakthrough” said Stefan Schlatt from the University Hospital Münster, who was not involved in the study, commenting on its results.
Rüdiger Behr from the German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research (DPZ) in Göttingen sees potential future applications in two areas in particular: research into the possibilities of producing organs from human cells in animals and the development and testing of new therapies.
This could help fill the gap in the availability of donor organs. Modification of animals’ genetic material plays a role in many research issues. ‘However, some important genetic modifications are complex and relatively inefficient to perform. With the data presented in the current study, it may be possible to transfer a genetic modification from an animal to a stem cell culture.’
2023-11-11 06:48:21
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