Scientists discover new way to produce lab-grown blood cells in medical breakthrough
Blood cell breakthrough could ‘significantly advance’ regenerative therapies
- University of Cambridge scientists have developed a novel method to generate blood cells using lab-grown embryo-like structures, termed 'hematoids'.
- These hematoids, created from human stem cells, are designed to mimic the earliest stages of human development and began producing blood cells after approximately two weeks in the lab.
- The model organises into the three crucial layers for organ formation and shows visible blood patches by day 13, replicating foetal blood development up to week four to five of human embryogenesis.
- This breakthrough offers significant potential for future regenerative therapies, allowing for the production of human blood cells in the lab to repair and regenerate damaged tissues.
- Further applications include drug screening, modelling blood disorders like leukaemia, studying early blood and immune development, and generating blood stem cells for transplants.