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An almost fully-formed human brain has been grown in a lab for the first time, claim scientists. The team behind the feat hopes the brain could transform understanding of neurological disease.
Though not conscious, the miniature brain, which resembles that of a five-week-old foetus, could potentially be useful for scientists who want to study the progression of developmental diseases, including Alzheimer’s.
Professor Rene Anand of the US Ohio State University said: “These human brain organoid models will allow us to study how exposure to drugs of abuse in utero, such as in pregnant nicotine users, alters the early brain development of the foetus and how human gene variants contribute to neurological disorder susceptibility. We are currently interested in developing brain organoids to study autism, drug addiction and Parkinson’s disease.”
The brain, which is about the size of a pencil rubber, is engineered from adult human skin cells and is the most complete human brain model yet developed, claimed Professor Anand, who presented the work at the Military Health System Research Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Prof Anand and his colleagues claim to have reproduced 99 per cent of the brain’s diverse cell types and genes. They say their brain also contains a spinal cord, signalling circuitry and even a retina. The ethical concerns were non-existent, he added. “We don’t have any sensory stimuli entering the brain. This brain is not thinking in any way.”
Prof Anand claims to have created the brain by converting adult skin cells into pluripotent cells – stem cells that can be programmed to become any tissue in the body. These were then grown in a specialised environment that persuaded the stem cells to grow into all the different components of the brain and central nervous system.
Dr Mahmood Kadem Al Saeed, a medical resident in Salmaniya Medical Complex with a special interest in geriatric medicine, who has written articles for GulfWeekly, said: “If this is true, then it’s a huge breakthrough. However, many scientists are sceptical, especially that these latest results haven’t been published yet.
“We should also keep in mind there is a difference between growing a group of cells bunched together forming an ‘organoid’ and a fully functional network of nerve cells with continuous electrical impulses forming an actual human brain. Since the cells that formed their ‘brain’ haven’t been genetically tested yet, then we cannot assume what they have in their lab is a fully-functional brain.
“Personally, I think stem cells are the future of modern medicine. Leaving the controversial and ethical issues aside, the fact that you might be able to grow your own organ that has your own genes in a lab and transplant it when needed, avoiding the search for a donor and the immune reaction that happens after the transplant, is overwhelming.
“If this ‘micro-Frankenstein’ experiment is successful, then a whole lot of diseases can be studdied such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s, with a hope of treatment.”
