A biotech company wants to create human embryos from stem cells to make tissue for transplants after showing success with mouse embryos kept alive for days in a mechanical womb until they develop beating hearts and circulating blood.
Israel-based company Renewal Bio has a mission to “make mankind younger and healthier” through the use of stem cell technology that could potentially be used to treat infertility, genetic disorders, or otherwise extend life.
Following the breakthrough success with mouse embryos, the results of which were published in the journal Cell on Monday, stem cell biologist Jacob Hanna wants the company he co-founded to replicate the technology in humans.
In the future, embryonic stem cells could be transplanted into an older person to boost their immune system, or used to regenerate ovarian cells — although the company says it’s still in the early stages and still learning about the potential applications of the technology.
Israel-based company Renewal Bio has a mission to “make mankind younger and healthier” through the use of stem cell technology that could potentially be used to treat infertility, genetic disorders, or otherwise extend life. ABOVE: A human fetus with internal organs
Following the breakthrough success with mouse embryos, the results of which were published in the journal Cell on Monday, stem cell biologist Jacob Hanna wants the company he co-founded to replicate the technology in humans. ABOVE: Brightfield images of abnormally developing iCdx2 sembryos at day 8 of the culture protocol and appropriately developing iCdx2 sembryos as reference controls (right side)
“We consider the embryo to be the best 3D bioprinter,” Hanna tells MIT Technology Review. “It’s the best unit for making organs and real tissue.”
Due to the ethical implications, not everyone is involved in Renewal Bio’s work, which Hanna is aware of as his company’s website contains the most bare-bones information.
“It’s absolutely not necessary, so why would you do it?” Nicolas Rivron, stem cell researcher at the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, told MIT Technology Review. He argues that scientists should only create “the minimum necessary embryonic structure” to obtain cells of interest.
Scientists are already able to grow certain simple tissues, such as cartilage or bone, but growing complex ones is much more difficult.
In the future, embryonic stem cells could be transplanted into an older person to boost their immune system, or used to regenerate ovarian cells — although the company says it’s still in the early stages and still learning about the potential applications of the technology. ABOVE: A graphic depicting how the mouse embryos were grown in the mechanical womb
“It’s absolutely not necessary, so why would you do it?” Nicolas Rivron, stem cell researcher at the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, told MIT Technology Review. He argues that scientists should only create “the minimum necessary embryonic structure” to obtain cells of interest. ABOVE: The mechanical womb in which mouse embryos are grown
‘The company’s vision is, ‘Can we use these organized embryo units with early organs to obtain cells that can be used for transplantation?’ We see it as a maybe universal starting point,” adds Hanna.
Hanna, who had previously shown that he could grow natural mouse embryos outside of a female uterus in a mechanical uterus for several times, was able to grow identical embryos from stem cells in his new work.
“The embryos look really great,” says Hanna. “They are really very similar to natural embryos.”
However, according to MIT Technology Review, less than 1 in 100 attempts to mimic a mouse embryo was successful, and the embryos that developed the longest still ended up with various abnormalities — including heart problems.
The scientist plans to use his own blood or skin cells, along with those of some volunteers, as a starting point for creating synthetic human embryos. Despite the ethical considerations of creating life in a test tube, Hanna considers them unviable.
“We’re not trying to make people. That’s not what we’re trying to do.’ Hanna tells MIT Technology Review. “Calling a day 40 embryo a mini-me just isn’t true.”
It’s important to note that a synthetic embryo could not survive beyond the glasses of the company’s mechanical womb. Since it does not have a placenta or umbilical cord connected to a mother, it would not survive if transplanted into a uterus.
“The ability to create a synthetic embryo from cells — no egg, no sperm, no uterus — that’s really amazing,” says Omri Amirav-Drory, who serves as the company’s CEO. “We believe it can be a massive, transformative platform technology that can be applied to both fertility and longevity.”