The team observed the emergence of three-dimensional embryo-like structures under a microscope in the laboratory. They began producing blood (seen here in red) after about two weeks of development — mimicking the development process in human embryos.
They cannot turn into real embryos, and are very different from them, but they can mimic the development of fetal blood, simulate disease and produce long-lasting blood stem cells for transplants.
A team of scientists from the United Kingdom created a three-dimensional model of an embryo capable of replicating some characteristics of early human developmentsuch as the production of blood cells, the University of Cambridge this Monday.
“Our new model imitates the development of human fetal blood (blood that circulates in the baby during pregnancy) in the laboratory”, said one of the scientists and a cell biologist at the Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge.
Hematoids (three-dimensional model) have “great potential” that allows us to better understand blood formation during the early stages of human development. New three-dimensional structures They can also simulate diseases such as leukemia (group of cancers) and produce long-lasting blood stem cells for transplants, according to researchers. Stem cells have the ability to divide indefinitely.
And on the 13th day…
The new model, similar to a human embryo, in the scientific journal Cell Reports, simulates the cellular changes that occur during the early stages of human development, when organs and the blood system begin to form. On the second day, the hematoids organized themselves into three germ layers, essential in the development of the embryo, these being the ectoderm, the mesoderm and the endoderm.
The layers “are crucial for shaping all organs and tissues, including blood”, reported the EFE agency. On the eighth day, cardiac cells were formed, which give rise to the heart in a human embryo. On the 13th day, the team observed the appearance of red blood stains on the hematoids, imitating the development process of human embryos, according to the Cambridge statement.
The researchers also developed a method that demonstrated that blood stem cells in hematoids can differentiate into several types of blood cells, including specialized immune cells such as T cellswhich fight infections and abnormalities in the body.
The university also indicated that the hematoids, which are still in the initial phase of the study, are different from real human embryos in many wayshighlighting that they lack several embryonic tissues, the yolk sac (which supplies nutrients to the embryo) and the placenta.
According to the educational establishment, three-dimensional structures cannot transform into real embryos.
