The kidneys in the part-human, part-pig embryos were allowed to develop for 28 days.
Scientists have, for the first time, grown human kidneys inside pig embryos that were implanted in surrogate sows.
The team said that although similar methods have been used to generate human tissues such as blood or skeletal muscle, previous attempts to grow human organs in pigs have not succeeded. To solve this problem, the researchers used gene editing technology to remove two genes from pig embryos. The part-human, part-pig embryos, known as chimeras, were grown in conditions in the lab that catered to both pig and human cells and their different needs, before being implanted in surrogate sows.All pig mothers had their pregnancy terminated after 28 days because ethical guidelines advise against letting chimeras develop completely.The team found that at 25–28 days, the kidneys were in the second stage of development and were structurally normal for their stage.
Ultimately, their aim is to use the technology for human organ transplantation, but the researchers said more work needs to be done.
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