Human liver tissue transplants in mice raise stem cell treatment hopes

[Clark]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jul/03/human-liver-stem-cell-treatment

Human liver tissue transplants in mice raise stem cell treatment hopes
Ian Sample

Scientists have made pieces of human liver from stem cells and, by transplanting them into mice, have shown they behave like healthy organs.

Tiny clumps of liver tissue were hooked up to the animals' blood supplies soon after the operations. They took on the normal jobs of the liver, such as clearing toxins from the blood.

The work marks a world first for the field of regenerative medicine, which has promised so much but until now failed to produce the major achievement of a complex organ that connects to a recipient's blood supply.

The feat has bolstered hopes that stem cells will lead to revolutionary therapies that are less dependent on donors, by repairing or replacing damaged organs with tissue grown fresh in the laboratory.

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