The story you will read below sounds like science fiction but it is not. It is science to dry. A team of researchers has grow some mini brains from human stem cells transplant these organoids into rats newborns and, from there, modify the behavior of these animals. The achievement, presented this Wednesday at the scientific magazine ‘Nature’has been described as “an unprecedented breakthrough”. And as a tool that, in the future, could improve the study of human neurological and psychiatric diseases.
It is not the first time that a mini-brain has been created in a laboratory. In fact, there are already several research groups that have managed to delve into this fascinating milestone. But unlike previous studies, this is the first time that it is possible to create an organ ‘in vitro’, transplant it to a rodent, observe how human tissues integrate with animal tissuessettle down new neural connections and typically human cells develop in the brain of a rat. Never before has an investigation achieved such a string of hits.
“This study represents a very important advance in the field of brain organoids“, explains Núria Montserrat, ICREA Research Professor at the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia. According to the scientist in statements to the Science Media Center Spain, the strong point of this research is how do you manage to “overcome the hurdles” for the generation of this type of crops and how, in turn, it manages to develop a strategy to ensure that these organoids develop complex features.
“This study represents a very important advance in the field of brain organoids”
Nuria Montserrat
study of diseases
The achievement, led by the researcher Sergiu Pașca from Stanford University, has been developed as follows. First of all, scientists harvested a ‘mini brain’ from human stem cells. Once this organ was created ‘in vitro’, they transplanted it into a newborn rat (between 3 and 7 days). The human tissues were inserted just at a time when the animal’s brain was developing. Hence, according to the authors of this research, it was achieved connect human cells with rodent cells.
The process has been carried out with cells from patients suffering from the Timothy syndrome: a rare congenital disease that affects neurodevelopment. Transplantation of these cells into newborn animals has allowed researchers study early stages of development of these cells, their behavior and their impact on neuronal activity. “The study showed that the neurons of the organoids had less elaborate morphologiesas well as different synaptic connectionsyes and one modified electrical activity“explain bioengineering experts J. Gray Camp and Barbara Treutlein in a analysis published in the magazine ‘News & views’.
Research has not only managed to successfully transplant a mini-brain, but has also managed to influence the behavior of animals. On the one hand, thanks to a technique known as optogenetics, genetically modified neurons so that every time they were exposed to light they activated certain proteins. On the other hand, it trained the rodents to get a reward each time they approached the trough. From there, the scientists observed that when they stimulated neurons in the artificial mini-brains, the rats headed straight in. bounty quest.
The Ethics of Mini Brains
Related news
In the future, experts argue, experiments with mini-brains could be a “revolution” for the study of neurological and psychiatric diseases. But before launching this type of study, the scientific community itself asks reflect on the bioethical implications of the use of artificial organs. For example. To what extent can increasingly complex mini-brains be created before these organs can develop a kind of consciousness of their own? If this happens, will we have to open a moral debate about its use?
“We need to promote the debate between researchers, bioethicists, regulators and society in general to create a framework for research and use of organoids that mimic the circuitry of the human brain,” reflect J. Gray Camp Y Barbara Treutlein about the future of this type of scientific advance.