Generation of Functional Organs Using a Cell Competitive Niche in Intra-and Inter-species Rodent Chimeras

A research group led by Prof. Hiromitsu Nakauchi and Toshiya Nishimura (JSPS research fellow) at The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (IMSUT) in Japan, and other co-researchers succeeded in dramatically increasing donor cell chimerism in both intra- and inter-species rodent chimeras.
The results of this research were published in “Cell Stem Cell ” on December 28, 2020.



Schematic representation of the cell competitive niche
Cells proliferate in synchrony within chimeric embryos generated by injecting pluripotent stem cells (donor) into pre-implantation embryos (host), whereas deletion of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (Igf1r) in host cells creates a cell competitive niche, in which wild-type donor cells outcompete Igf1r knockout (Igf1r KO) host cells resulting in the generation of near complete donor-derived organs.

Press release (Japanese only)