Japan successfully transplants kidney tissue into mouse fetuses

According to a VNA reporter in Tokyo, a research team at Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo has successfully transplanted kidneys between mouse fetuses, marking an important step toward clinical studies involving cross-species organ transplants.

Researchers say transplanted kidney tissue in mice not only grew but also produced urine within 150 days of surgery.

The experiment is part of a broader effort to develop fetal organ transplants for conditions such as Potter syndrome, a disorder that leaves infants with kidney failure and underdeveloped lungs.

Professor Takashi Yokoo and his colleagues aim to begin clinical studies as early as fiscal 2026, which will temporarily transplant pig kidney tissue into human fetuses diagnosed with the disease.

This procedure will act as a bridge until dialysis can be started after delivery.

Recent mouse experiments have examined whether kidney tissue can integrate and how the fetal immune system responds at different stages of development.

Of the nine mice that received kidney transplants, eight showed development of glomeruli — which filter waste from the blood — and renal tubules, which reabsorb essential substances, creating urine.

The mice's own blood vessels were found to have entered the transplanted organs and formed functioning glomeruli. Remarkably, the team said, there was no immune rejection, even without immunosuppressive drugs.

The researchers also conducted xenotransplantation experiments between mice. In those cases, a small dose of immunosuppressant drugs was used and tissue growth was observed.

The team is now expanding the tests to include pigs, whose kidney size and structure are very similar to humans. Experiments are underway to test fetal-to-fetal pig kidney transplants.

Although animal organ transplants into humans have yet to be tested in Japan, they are gaining attention as a potential solution to the country's chronic shortage of donated organs.

"We want to move towards clinical applications by transplanting pig kidneys into fetuses of non-human primates," said Dr Keita Morimoto of the university, who was involved in the research.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/nhat-ban-cay-ghep-thanh-cong-mo-than-cho-thai-nhi-chuot-post1027219.vnp