In a feat that could possibly trump space-grown lettuce, scientists have cultivated something far more fascinating — a brain.
Over 12 weeks, Ohio State University researchers grew an unconscious brain equivalent to that of a 5-week old fetus by converting adult skin cells into pluripotent cells — immature stem cells that can be coaxed into becoming any kind of tissue present in the body, including neural or brain tissue. Previous attempts to culture a brain in a petri dish have resulted in incomplete “cerebral organoids” that resembled the development of a 9-week old fetus but had only certain areas of the brain, such as the forebrain or retina.
The pea-sized brain complete with a spinal cord, retina, and all major brain regions has 99 percent of the genes expressed in a fully formed adult brain. It lacks a blood supply, which is developed after the fifth gestational week, and has no sensory input, making the lab-grown brain a living tissue replica that “is not thinking in any way,” lead researcher and university biological chemistry and pharmacology professor Rene Anand told the Guardian.
“Once a cell is in that pluripotent state, it can become any organ — if you know what to do to support it to become that organ,” Anand said in a news release. “The brain has been the holy grail because of its enormous complexity compared to any other organ. Other groups are attempting to do this as well.”
For now, the team will continue to observe the brain’s maturation, hoping it will develop the remaining 1 percent of genes it needs and “attempt to build the vasculature.”
News of the research comes after a political firestorm swirled over the use of using aborted fetal tissue for medical research and Planned Parenthood’s involvement. Conservatives and 2016 presidential hopefuls have since pounced on the issue, condemning fetal tissue research as a black market trade of “aborted baby parts” despite its long history and previous Republican support.
Fetal tissue research has a storied past, leading to the development of the chickenpox, polio, and rubella vaccines, that latter of which curbed the more than 5,000 miscarriages a year caused by rubella bacterial infections.
The political controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue research fuels trepidation in the science community, making scientists cautious about going public with their research and worry the grants that fund them may fall victim to political whim.
Anand and fellow biological chemistry and pharmacology researcher Susan McKay were hesitant to release their findings to the press before it had undergone peer review. The full impact of the research won’t become clear until more data is released, but the findings potentially could have a significant effect on degenerative neurological diseases including dementia, primarily Alzheimer’s, autism, and Parkinson’s.
“In central nervous system diseases, this will enable studies of either underlying genetic susceptibility or purely environmental influences, or a combination,” Anand said. “Genomic science infers there are up to 600 genes that give rise to autism, but we are stuck there. Mathematical correlations and statistical methods are insufficient to in themselves identify causation. You need an experimental system — you need a human brain.”