Scientists Create Early Liver From Human Stem Cells

Scientists used human stem cells to create precursors to human livers like those in fetuses, and the early organs functioned as livers when transplanted into mice.

These buds didn’t grow into regular livers and any treatment for humans is at least a decade away, according to the research published in the journal Nature. Still, the study demonstrated the first steps toward potentially creating new organs for transplants, researchers said.

Demand for organ transplant outpaces the number of donors, with more than 118,000 Americans waiting for a life-saving transplant, according to theU.S. Department of Healthand Human Services. An average of 18 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant. Stem cells, which can grow into any other type of cell, have long held the promise of bridging this gap.

“The study holds out real promise for a viable alternative approach to human organ transplants,” said Matthew Smalley, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University’s European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute who wasn’t involved in the study.

Japanese scientists, mostly from Yokohama City University, planted the liver buds on the heads and abdomens of mice, according to the paper released yesterday. The heads allowed for a better view of how the liver buds grew blood vessels to feed themselves. The buds processed some drugs and compounds that human livers can handle but mouse livers cannot. However, their function wasn’t as good as that of a regular liver.