Birth of 'Chimera Monkey' Mixed with Two Cells... A Big Step Toward Organ Transplantation

China CAS Successfully Delivers Chimeric Monkey
"Injected Stem Cells Also Affect Germ Cells"

A national research institute in China has succeeded in creating and delivering a 'chimera monkey.' This study is expected to provide clues to understanding primate stem cells.

The appearance of a chimera monkey born by Chinese researchers on the third day after birth. Fluorescent signals processed for confirming the success of the experiment appear in the pupils and fingertips.
[Photo by Cell]

On the 10th, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported in the prestigious international journal Cell that they created chimera embryos by implanting stem cells from one monkey into the embryo of another monkey.

Chimera technology involves manipulating a single organism to have genetically different types of cells. Humans develop from a single fertilized egg through cell division and differentiation, so all cells share the same genetic traits. In contrast, chimera organisms have cells with different genetic information in various parts of their bodies.

This CAS research team created chimera embryos using monkeys A and B of the same species, implanted them into surrogate mother monkeys, and successfully achieved birth.

The appearance of a chimera monkey born by Chinese researchers on the third day after birth. Fluorescent signals treated for confirming the success of the experiment are visible in the pupils and fingertips.
[Photo by Cell]

The researchers established stem cell lines from cells extracted from early monkey embryos. Stem cells present at the embryonic stage have the characteristic of 'pluripotency,' meaning they can differentiate into various body organs. For example, it has become possible to create a brain composed solely of human cells based on pig genes.

The team injected the cultured stem cell lines into other monkey embryos to create chimera embryos. These chimera embryos were implanted into female monkeys 12 times.

Out of 12 attempts, 6 resulted in births, and chimera experiments were confirmed successful in 2 of these monkeys.

To verify chimera synthesis, the researchers treated the stem cells with fluorescent proteins. As a result, some parts of the chimera monkeys exhibited fluorescent signals.

Additionally, through base sequence analysis and other methods, it was confirmed that two genetic traits coexisted intact in one monkey. The researchers stated that stem cell-derived cells accounted for an average of about 67% in 26 body tissues, including the brain, kidneys, liver, and gastrointestinal tract of the born monkeys.

Injected Stem Cells Affect Even Reproductive Cells

The cell division experiment process of creating a 'chimera monkey'.
[Photo by Cell]

Notably, the injected stem cells developed into reproductive cells, which are germ cells.

This study is expected to provide deep insights into the developmental potential of primate stem cells.

Senior researcher Zhen Liu of CAS said, "This study goes beyond understanding the pluripotency of primate stem cells, including humans, and has applications in genetic engineering and species conservation. We will improve research by optimizing the culture conditions of embryonic stem cell lines and increasing the survival rate of embryos implanted in the uterus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.