A team of US scientists revealed on Sunday that they have successfully implanted tissue obtained through therapeutic cloning into cows, in what is seen as a major breakthrough for the future of organ transplantation.
But their research, to be detailed in the July issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology, was certain to add fuel to the long-simmering debate over the controversial practice opposed by the White House, many congressional Republicans and religious conservatives, including the Roman Catholic Church.
The team, led by researchers from Children’s Hospital in Boston, used cow donor eggs and skin cells to produce embryonic stem cells that were subsequently used to grow bioengineered heart, muscle and kidney tissue ready for transplantation.
Heart ”patches” and miniature kidneys were transplanted back into the cows, from which the original skin cells had been harvested.
The results, according to the scientists, have exceeded expectations.
The miniature kidneys, for example, were able to excrete metabolic waste products through a urine like fluid.
”There was no rejection response to the cloned tissues,” the team said in a statement.
The study provides the first scientific evidence that cloned tissues can be transplanted back into animals without being destroyed by the body’s immune system, according to experts.
The importance of the findings are underscored by the fact that cows have a sophisticated immune system similar to that of humans, the experts said.
”The study is proof of principle that therapeutic cloning can be used to create tissues without the threat of rejection,” says Anthony Atala, director of Tissue Engineering at Children’s Hospital and the senior author on the paper.
”While more work needs to be done, this demonstrates the potential use of this technology,” Atala said. – Sapa-AFP