Madrid, Spain -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/31/2012 -- Scientists have produced monkeys composed of cells taken from separate embryos for the first time. The animals were born after researchers combined cells from different embryos and implanted them into female monkeys. A spokesperson from Support Real S.L commented on this pioneering accomplishment saying ‘we believe experience like these can be controversial, where is the line drawn? The answer behind this question we believe lies behind the motivation behind doing this work. ’
In the US, a team, which has reported its work in the journal Cell, says the advance could have "enormous" importance for medical research.
Such animals, which contain genetically distinct groups of cells from more than one organism, are called "chimeras".
Chimeras are important for studying embryonic development, but research has largely been restricted to mice. The three rhesus monkeys, named Chimero, Roku and Hex, are said to be normal and healthy. They have tissues made up of a mixture of cells representing as many as six distinct embryos. “The possibilities for science are enormous," Continues the managing director of Support Real S.L.
“This is a big step forward in understanding how embryos develop” states Support Real S.L, “this research will also further our understanding of Stem cells”. Stem cell therapies hold promise for replacing damaged nerve cells in those who have been paralysed due to a spinal cord injury and, for example, the brain cells lost in Parkinson's disease. Stem cells are the "master cells" that can transform into a variety of more specialised cells required in the body.
The researchers were only able to make monkey chimeras when they mixed cells from very early stage embryos, in which each individual embryonic cell was "totipotent", which is having the ability to differentiate into all cell types. These totipotent cells are capable of giving rise to a whole animal as well as the placenta and other life-sustaining tissues. The study also suggests that cultured primate and human embryonic stem cells, some of which have been maintained in labs for as long as two decades, may not be as potent as those found inside a living embryo.
The Managing Director of Support Real added “Today is an exciting time to be alive due to the medical advancements in science, but many worry that this kind of research can go to fare so everything to do with stem cell research must be monitored”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/