Japanese researchers claim to have created functioning human brain tissue from stem cells, a world first that has raised new hopes for the treatment of disease.
Stem cells taken from human embryos have been used to form tissues of the cerebral cortex, according to experts at the government backed research institute Riken. The tissues self-organised into four distinct zones very similar to the structure seen in human fetuses, and conducted neuro-activity such as transmitting electrical signals.
“Transplanting tissues could raise hopes for greater functional recovery,” the institute said.
But study of invitro cultivation of more mature cortex tissue, such as those with six zones like in the adult human brain, will be stepped up. The tissues could also serve as “a mini organ” for studying the causes of Alzheimer’s disease.
Embryonic stem cells are harvested by destroying a viable embryo, a process that some find unacceptable. Riken said cortex tissues were also obtained from “induced pluripotent stem cells,” which are similar to embryonic stem cells but artificially induced.