Blood circulation and cells of dead pigs regenerated
8Blood circulation and cells of dead pigs regenerated
Researchers at Yale University in the USA announced that they were able to restore blood circulation and other cellular functions exactly one hour after the pigs died. Scientists announced that with the new technique they developed, human organs can be preserved for a longer time and this will revolutionize organ transplant operations.
Scientists from Yale University announced that they have developed a system called OrganEx that allows oxygen to recirculate in the body of a dead pig, protecting cells and certain organs after their heart has stopped.
A professor of comparative medicine, genetics, and psychiatry and who led the study, Dr. Nenad Sestan said, "These cells worked hours after they weren't supposed to. Our findings show that even an hour after death, the death of cells can be stopped and their functions restored in many vital organs."
Dr. from New York University, who was not involved in the study published in the scientific journal Nature. Sam Parnia said: "This is truly remarkable and incredibly important work. It shows that after death, cells in mammalian organs such as the brain (including humans) do not die for hours. This shows that we are getting pretty close to the postmortem period."
HOW DOES THE ORGANEX SYSTEM WORK?
The OrganEx system works by pumping a liquid called perfusate mixed with blood into the blood vessels of dead pigs. Perfusate contains a synthetic form of the hemoglobin protein and several other compounds and molecules that help protect cells and prevent blood clots. The researchers found that, six hours after treatment with OrganEx, certain essential cellular functions were active and some organ functions were restored in many areas of the pigs' body, including the heart, liver and kidney.
However, the researchers stated that they used about 100 pigs in their study and killed the animals under anesthesia by artificially giving them a heart attack.
“The research also helps scientists better understand the death process,” Sestan said. This is something that has been relatively little studied. A few minutes after the heart stops beating, blood flow stops and a series of biochemical events begin. This is caused by the cessation of oxygen and nutrients that cells need to survive. Then the cells start to disappear,” he said.
The OrganEx system, on the other hand, is built on research published by the same team in 2019, which uses a similar experimental system called BrainEx, which sends artificial blood to pigs' brains and prevents the disruption of important neural functions.
HOW WILL THE RESEARCH APPLY TO PEOPLE?
The scientists said they hope their work in pigs can eventually be applied to humans, although their work is still at a very early stage and experimental. First of all, the system they developed could facilitate organ transplants between people, the researchers said.
Co-author Stephen Latham, director of the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Bioethics, said: “I believe the OrganEx system will represent a major breakthrough in terms of long-term preservation of organs from a donor. "You can take the organ of a deceased person and connect it to perfusion technology and transport it long distances for a long period of time to deliver it to a recipient in need," he said.
On the other hand, the researchers stressed that they did not resuscitate the pigs in any way, and that more work is needed to understand whether the organs can be used for transplantation.
"We cannot directly say that any organs of the pigs included in this study are ready to be transplanted into another animal. We do not know if all the organs are working. We looked at the cellular and metabolic levels. It is too early to say that we have given life to any animal," Latham said.
On the other hand, from the University of Groningen Medical Center in the Netherlands, Dr. Robert J. Porte stated that the research has the potential to lead to new treatment strategies for people who have had a heart attack or stroke. It should be noted that more research is needed first.”