Lab Cells Help Grow Fully Functioning Thymus in Mice

A research team from the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh has successfully grown a fully functional organ from transplanted laboratory-created cells found in a living animal.

Researchers hope that with further research, this discovery could lead to new treatments for individuals suffering from weakened immune systems seen in many with thymus disorders.

For their research, the study authors took cells known as fibroblasts from a mouse embryo and turned them into a completely different type of cell called thymus cells via a reprogramming technique.

Researchers found that the reprogrammed cells changed shape to something similar in key thymus cell types and transplanted them into a mouse, forming a replacement organ. The new organ had the same structure, complexity and function as other healthy adult thymus cells.

This is the first time that scientists have created an entire living organ from cells that were created outside the body via reprogramming.

Though previous findings have shown that thymus disorders can be treated with infusions of extra immune cells or transplantation of a thymus organ soon after birth, the problem is more that both are limited by a lack of donors and matching tissues needed for the recipient.

With future cell refinement, researchers hope that lab-grown cells could form the basis of a thymus transplant treatment for people with weakened immune systems. The findings also show a window into potential new treatments for babies born with genetic conditions that might prevent them from developing properly.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Nature Cell Biology.