Transient inhibition of mTOR in human pluripotent stem cells enables robust formation of mouse-human chimeric embryos

[Todd Allen]

Transient inhibition of mTOR in human pluripotent stem cells enables robust formation of mouse-human chimeric embryos

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When transferred to mouse blastocysts, naïve hPSCs generated 0.1 to 4% human cells, of all three germ layers, including large amounts of enucleated red blood cells, suggesting a marked acceleration of hPSC development in mouse embryos.

I sometimes doubt the applicability to humans of research on lab mice but I may have to rethink my objections when they advance this technique to produce lab mice that are 96% human cells.

 

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The significant utilities of such technologies and their social ramifications call for careful ethical considerations.

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The University at Buffalo Institutional Review Board has determined that the use of human cells in the study is not human subject research.

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These events did not affect the function or welfare of the pregnant mice or the embryos because the embryonic eye was not capable of vision yet and the embryonic brain contained very few human neural cells to affect embryonic mouse brain functions.

Comforting to know they are thinking 2 steps ahead of me.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Todd Allen