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.

More Trials

Nakauchi will transplant the lab-manufactured kidneys into healthy mice later this year to check their function. He also plans to do a similar experiment in either pigs or cows, he said. The research isn't yet published in a scientific journal.

Nakauchi said it's the first time kidneys have been grown using embryonic stem cells. Scientists have previously grown a pancreas using a similar technique, he said.

``The science is interesting, the motivation is good, but there are problems with the application and implementation of it,'' said Alan Colman, chief executive officer of ES Cell International, a Singapore-based stem cell research group.

Human bodies may reject organs grown in pigs or cows to which they're not genetically matched, Colman said. There's also the possibility that transplanted organs would harbor viruses or parasites against which humans don't have immunity, he said.

Nakauchi said the technique may work better if the organs are grown in monkeys or chimpanzees, although such experiments would likely raise ethical concerns for those who consider primates to be closely related to humans.

`Good Scientist'

``This kind of thing might turn out to be beneficial from a transient perspective,'' said Elaine Fuchs, a professor at the Rockefeller University in New York. ``His work is very high quality, he's a good scientist,'' she said.

Nakauchi said he is optimistic the research may yield organs fit for use in humans in 10 years.

``At the moment people are negative'' about transplanting an organ grown in one species into another, he said. ``But since there's no alternative, I hope we can change'' their thinking.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Singapore at sbennett9@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 18, 2007 02:49 EDT

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