Some of the most promising developments in stem cell research involve growing new organs from stem cells.  New research may have found a way to create three-dimensional organs that can be used to develop medical treatments, identify how organ development has failed or to identify how a disease functions.  Scientists are also interested in growing organs for use in transplants and to test new drugs.

The organs currently being grown from stem cells are usually a small version of the organ, known as an organoid.  Scientists have already managed to create working heart tissue from cardiac stem cells on a two-dimensional scale.  The challenge researchers are presented with is forming a three-dimensional and fully functional organ.

Researchers from the universities of California-Berkeley and San Francisco may have discovered a way to build three-dimensional organs using a new approach.

To understand their accomplishment, it is important to understand how the human body creates organs during its development.  As lead research Dr. Bruce Conklin explains: “You have to realize that the genomes inside every single cell in your body are essentially the same. It’s just a matter of which genes are turned on and off that really make the difference between them so that if you force the genes on that are going to be like a different cell type, then the cells start taking on that identity, and then that becomes self-reinforcing.”  Dr Conklin is particularly interested in discovering why heart disorders occur as birth defects.

Another research team at the Yale university has created 3-D models of the brain using stem cells.  The tissue was then used for autism research.  They have already discovered that the over-expression of a certain gene may cause the disease, a major breakthrough.

Both research projects involved the use of non-controversial adult stem cells.  They used recent breakthroughs in stem cell research to convert the adult stem cells into pluripotent stem cells, which can go on to make other types of cells.

Source: These Little Organs Could Be Big For Stem Cell Research

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