Fully functional mini human livers have been created from skin cells and transplanted into rats for the first time - giving hope for future organ transplants. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine reprogrammed skin cells into stem cells that they then coaxed into forming liver cells. As an ultimate test, the researchers transplanted their lab-grown mini livers into five rats, who were bred to resist organ rejection. The team effectively seeded the grown human liver cells on to a rat liver scaffold that had been stripped of the rat liver cells. In all cases, blood flow problems had developed within and around the graft, but the transplanted mini livers worked - the rats had human liver proteins in their blood.

Source: Daily Mail June 05, 2020 11:41 UTC