Cambridge researchers Grow Human Embryo Model Capable of producing Blood Cells
Cambridge University scientists have, for the first time, grown a human embryo model in the lab that successfully produces blood stem cells - a breakthrough offering potential new avenues for understanding early human development and treating blood disorders. The achievement bypasses the need for external protein support typically required for lab-grown human blood stem cells, rather mimicking natural developmental processes through a self-organizing embryo-like model.
This research is significant because current methods for generating human blood stem cells are complex and inefficient. This new model, developed to the equivalent of 14 days post-fertilization – a key legal and ethical boundary for embryo research in many countries – provides a more accurate and potentially scalable platform for studying the origins of blood and immune cells, and could ultimately lead to new therapies for diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anemia.
The embryo models,while resembling early-stage human embryos,are distinctly different. Researchers emphasize they cannot develop into a full embryo, lacking essential tissues like the yolk sac and placenta. The study, primarily funded by Wellcome, was approved by ethics committees and has been published in the journal Cell Reports.
Researchers say the model is crucial for advancing knowledge in human development.All research modelling human embryo development must be approved by ethics committees before proceeding, and this study received the necessary approvals while the resulting paper was peer reviewed.
