An experiment conducted by a team of scientists from the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health (China) to grow human kidneys inside pig embryos was completed successfully. MIR 24 reports on its implementation with reference to The Independent.

Initially, scientists created "chimeras" - embryos from human and pig cells. They were then implanted into live pigs. The development of the embryos was monitored for 28 days, equivalent to the first trimester of pregnancy. After that, the embryos were extracted. The study found that the kidneys "contain up to 60% human cells, are structurally normal and are in the second stage of development."

The authors of the scientific experiment used gene editing technology. They removed two genes from pig embryos and thus created a genetic “niche” that made it possible to grow human kidneys.

This was the first time an entire human organ had been grown inside another species. Previous experiments ended in failure because human and pig cells began to “compete” with each other.

In the future, scientists plan to grow the buds to a later stage of development. But full-fledged transplantation of such organs is still far away. Thus, the artificial kidneys retained blood vessels typical of pigs, not humans. To achieve full biological compatibility, more complex genetic technologies will be required, the source notes.