British scientists have built a complete and functional organ in a living animal for the first time

British scientists have produced the first working organ by reprogramming cells in a step towards the ‘Holy Grail’ of being able to grow replacement organs for humans.

In future the technique, so far only tested on mice, could be used to provide replacement organs for people with weakened immune systems and eventually lead on the production of more complex organs for transplant. The technique could be used in humans in ten years.
Scientiststs created a working thymus, a vital immune system “nerve centre” located near the heart, with connective tissue cells from a mouse embryo which were converted into a completely different cell strain by flipping a genetic “switch” in their DNA.

The resulting cells grew spontaneously into the whole organ when injected into the mouse with other similar cells.

Professor Clare Blackburn, from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, who led the team of scientists, said: “The ability to grow replacement organs from cells in the lab is one of the ‘holy grails’ in regenerative medicine. But the size and complexity of lab-grown organs has so far been limited.

“By directly reprogramming cells we’ve managed to produce an artificial cell type that, when transplanted, can form a fully organised and functional organ. This is an important first step towards the goal of generating a clinically useful artificial thymus in the lab.”

The thymus is the central hub of the immune system sending out infection fighting T-cells.

People with a defective thymus lack functioning T-cells and are highly vulnerable to infections. This is especially hazardous for bone marrow transplant patients, who need a working thymus to rebuild their immune systems after surgery.

Around one in 4,000 babies born each year in the UK have a malfunctioning or completely absent thymus, due to rare conditions such as DiGeorge syndrome.

Thymus disorders can be treated with infusions of extra immune cells or transplantation of a new organ soon after birth. However, such approaches are severely limited by a lack of donors and tissue rejection.

The new research, published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, raises the possibility of creating a whole new functioning thymus using cells manufactured in the laboratory.
While fragments of organs, including hearts, livers and even brains, have been grown from stem cells, no one before has succeeded in producing a fully intact organ from cells created outside the body.

Dr Rob Buckle, head of regenerative medicine at the MRC, said: “Growing ‘replacement parts’ for damaged tissue could remove the need to transplant whole organs from one person to another, which has many drawbacks – not least a critical lack of donors.

“This research is an exciting early step towards that goal, and a convincing demonstration of the potential power of direct reprogramming technology, by which once cell type is converted to another. However, much more work will be needed before this process can be reproduced in the lab environment, and in a safe and tightly controlled way suitable for use in humans.”

Chris Mason, Professor of Regenerative Medicine at University College London, said: “Using living cells as therapies has the big advantage in that the functionality of cells is many orders of magnitude greater than that of conventional drugs. Nowhere is this level of functionality more needed than in curing disorders of the immune system.

“The time and resources required to turn this mouse proof-of-concept study into a safe and effective routine therapy for patients will be very significant – 10 years and tens of millions of pounds at a bare minimum. Even the starting point, the underpinning science, is far from complete: for example, not all the cells that are required can yet be made in the lab. However, the … data strongly support the urgent need for more scientists, together with engineers and clinicians, to now get involved in order to evaluate and develop this new technology.”

Dr Paolo de Coppi, consultant paediatric surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital and head of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at the Institute of Child Health, London, said: “Research such as this demonstrates that organ engineering could, in the future, be a substitute for transplantation, overcoming problems such as organ donor shortages and bypassing the need for immunosuppressive therapy.

“It remains to be seen whether, in the long term, cells generated using direct reprogramming will be able to maintain their specialised form and avoid problems such as tumour formation.”

Source: The telegraph

Bodies of the four Nigerians, who died of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, have been cremated in line with World Health Organisation, WHO, requirements for disposal of such corpses. The body of the index (first) case, Patrick Sawyer was the first to be cremated on July 25, 2014.

The decision to cremate the bodies, it was gathered, may not be unconnected with the deadly nature of the Ebola Virus which is known to be easily transmissible from human to human during handling of corpses of victims.

A health official at the Emergency Operation Centre, EOC, of the Mainland Hospital, Lagos, who confirmed the development, said the Lagos State Government in following strict guidelines for disposal of the bodies, authorised cremation of all the bodies.

The official who pleaded anonymity said the decision to cremate all bodies was to ensure appropriate containment measures and guarantee proper handling of the bodies.

“All the bodies of those who died of Ebola from this centre have been cremated. None was allowed to undergo traditional burial because extreme care is being taken to prevent further infections,” the official noted.

The WHO in recommending that people who die from Ebola should be promptly and safely buried, notes that cremation, which is the application of high temperature to reduce bodies to basic chemical components (ashes), is ideal for safe disposal of bodies of such persons in order to minimise further transmission.

In a statement weekend, the ECOWAS Commission stated that the remains of its Protocol Assistant at the Lagos Liaison Office, Mr. Salihu Abdulqudir Jatto, who succumbed to the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, on August 12, 2014, had been laid to rest in a private ceremony in Ikorodu, Lagos state.

The statement said a delegation from the Commission had earlier paid a condolence visit to the deceased’s widow and other members of his family.

Jatto was among persons that assisted the American-Liberian Mr. Patrick Sawyer, and contracted the disease from the late Sawyer who took ill on arrival in Nigeria on July 20, 2014 on his way to a regional conference in Calabar, and later died in a Lagos hospital of the EVD.

The statement noted that prior to the burial last Friday, a special prayer service in honour of the deceased was held at the Commission’s Abuja Headquarters. The activity was presided over by Vice President of the Commission Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh who represented the President of the Commission, Kadré Desire Ouédraogo.

Glowing tributes were paid in memory of Jatto, who was variously described as a diligent, passionate, humble and hardworking staff, who died a hero in the course of duty.

Leading the other mourning colleagues in the outpouring of grief, McIntosh described Jatto as “a sharp, young, aggressive goal-getter and a personal friend.

“We are all touched by his death, which is both a personal and collectively loss,” McIntosh said, praying for the repose of Jatto’s soul.

Head of Protocol at the Commission, Mr. Steve Onwuka, narrated examples of Jatto’s unique “unassuming, humble and infectious” character and recalled that Jatto died at a time the world attention was focused on the region, albeit for the Ebola health emergency.

Others who spoke at the occasion, include Mr. Hyacinth Okwu, of the Finance Directorate; Mr. Franck Afanyiakossou, and Mr. Joshua Iyamu, a member of the Staff Association, all acknowledged Jatto’s legacy of service and exemplary character.

They appealed for improvement of the staff welfare and asked for special care of Jatto’s wife and children given the circumstance of his death.

Earlier, Mr. Saihou Njie, of the Human Resources Directorate said the ceremony was part of the traditional gestures of honour to a departed colleague.

Source: all africa