Chinese scientists have successfully grown human hearts in pig embryos for the first time, marking a new step forward in efforts to address the global organ shortage.
The research team led by developer biologist Lai Liangxue of the Guangzhou Institute of Biotechnology and Medicine (China Academy of Sciences) presented the results at the International Conference on Coconut Ethnic Research held in Hong Kong (China).
In the experiment, Mr. Lai's team used gene editing techniques to remove two genes that play a key role in the development of the heart in pig embryos. Then, they inject in the embryo the human stem cells that have been modified to be able to survive and develop in the pig body environment. These embryos were planted in mother pigs and developed for 21 days, before stopping development and dying.
When developing embryos, the team discovered small heartbeats that were beating at the size of a human heart in the development stage - just the size of a finger. Human cells in heart tissue are marked with fluorescent to be easily identified during analysis.
Although the research team has not published the ratio of human cells in these hearts, the results are still considered a breakthrough. In a previous study related to the kidneys, Mr. Lai's team said that about 40-60% of kidney tissue is made up of human cells, the rest is pig cells. For the heart, the level of blendage between human cells and home cells is still unclear.
Some international experts attending the conference expressed their concern about the risk of cross-contamination between cell lines, while emphasizing that creating a heart that can be safely transplanted still requires more time and careful testing. To be used in clinical medicine, heart tissue needs to reach a pure human level to minimize the risk of excretion after transplantation.
