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First fetus-to-fetus transplant demonstrated in rats

The tissue developed into functioning kidneys and produced urine.
  1. Smriti Mallapaty
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A fetal kidney retrieved 2 weeks after transplantation at 9 weeks of age.

The transplanted tissue grew into a kidney with identifiable parts, and the host's blood vessels began infiltrating it. Credit: K. Morimoto et al./bioRxiv

Surgeons in Japan have transplanted kidney tissue from one rat fetus to another, while the recipient was still in its mother's womb. Study lead Takashi Yokoo, a nephrologist at Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, says the surgery is the first step to one day transplanting fetal pig kidneys into human fetuses that develop without functioning kidneys.

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Nature 629, 267-268 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01152-y

References

  1. Miller, J. L. et al. JAMA 330, 2096–2105 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Morimoto, K. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.15.589452 (2024).

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