Science scores a major win, as a new study shows that a team of researchers has grown a fully functioning thymus organ in mice by transplanting lab-grown cells. They say this advance could help in future developments of replacement organs that are grown in a lab.

Share on Pinterest For the first time, scientists have grown a fully functioning thymus in mice using lab-grown cells.

The study, published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, was conducted by scientists from the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

They note that the thymus is a vital immune organ that produces T cells to guard against disease by searching the body for faulty cells and infections. These T cells lead an immune response to eliminate harmful cells – such as cancer – or bacteria and viruses when they detect a problem.

However, individuals who do not have a fully functioning thymus are unable to generate enough T cells and are therefore vulnerable to infections and diseases.

Although thymus disorders can sometimes be remedied by extra immune cells or thymus transplantation soon after birth, the researchers say both options are limited by a lack of donors and problems with tissue matching.

As such, the ability to create a complete thymus from lab-grown cells would be a major boost in treating these conditions. While it is possible to produce distinct cell types in a dish, until now, researchers have been unable to grow a fully functioning organ from cells created outside the body.