American scientists have reported an unprecedented success in the integration of live human cells in the organisms of other animals. In particular, they managed to create the most perfect to date, hybrid human-mouse – something that is impossible in ordinary nature. Such chimeras are extremely important and necessary science, but it is not spectacular from the position of, for example, cinema – instead of nightmarish monsters in the cells grow normal-looking rodents.
To be precise, none of the hybrid mouse-human and were not grown to adulthood, all embryos, including the most successful, destroyed on the 17th day of life. Not because of security requirements – the scientists believe that such beings are not more dangerous than a normal mouse. Just makes no sense to spend time and resources on the intermediate result, when the content of human cells in mice only 0.1%, it is not of practical interest.
And even the record today, 4 % of the human cells in the mouse body just a reason for personal pride researchers. Much more interesting method itself, the scientists were able to calibrate human stem cells, achieving approximately the same growth rate with mouse cells. This allowed a mutual integration, but it has not led to the desired result. Human cells are partially settled in the liver and heart of mice, but most just turned into erythrocytes.
The mere presence of human cells in the body of the mouse does nothing, for science it is important to get entire organs, systems, like the circulatory or respiratory. To experiment, use the mouse-people as the best laboratory model. On the one hand, this allows us to study the problems of treating human bodies with the other hybrids breed and operated as a conventional mouse, in large quantities and cheaply.
Source — Science News