Scientists have created miniorgans from cells floating in the fluid that surrounds a fetus in the womb – an advance they believe could open up new areas of prenatal medicine.

科學(xué)家從子宮內(nèi)胎兒周圍的液體細(xì)胞中培育出微型器官——這一突破有望開啟產(chǎn)前醫(yī)學(xué)新范圍。

Miniorgans, or " organoids," are tiny simplified structures that can be used to test new medical treatments or study how the real organs they mimic work, whether they are healthy or diseased.

微型器官，或稱“類器官”， 是微小的簡(jiǎn)化結(jié)構(gòu)，可用于測(cè)試新的醫(yī)療辦法或研究它們所模擬的真實(shí)器官的工作原理， 無論這類器官是健康的還是患病的。

Researchers from university College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital in the United Kingdom collected cells from amniotic fluid samples taken during 12 pregnancies as part of routine prenatal testing. Then, for the first time, they grew mini-organs from cells taken during active pregnancies. They envision their approach could eventually help doctors monitor and treat congenital conditions before birth and develop personalized therapies for a baby in the womb.

英國(guó)倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院和大奧蒙德街醫(yī)院的研究職員從 12 次懷孕中例行產(chǎn)前檢查采集的羊水樣本中采集了細(xì)胞。 然后，他們初次從活躍妊娠期間獲得的細(xì)胞中培育出了微型器官。 他們?cè)O(shè)想，這種辦法最后可能能夠幫助大夫在出生前監(jiān)測(cè)和治療先天成人兩性疾病，并為子宮內(nèi)的嬰兒開發(fā)個(gè)性化療法。

To examine one practical use of their approach, the U.K. team worked with colleagues in Belgium to study the development of babies with a condition called a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, in which organs such as the liver and intestines get displaced into the chest because of a hole in the diaphragm. The lungs don't develop the way they should, and about 30% of fetuses with the condition die. If doctors detect the hernia, they can operate on the fetus while it's still in the womb.

為了檢驗(yàn)這種辦法的實(shí)質(zhì)作用與功效，英國(guó)團(tuán)隊(duì) 與比利時(shí)的同事合作，研究了一種名為先天性膈疝的嬰兒疾病的進(jìn)步狀況， 在這種疾病中，肝臟和腸道等器官因?yàn)殡跫∩系目锥炊莆坏叫厍恢小?肺部沒辦法正常發(fā)育，約30%的患有這種疾病的胎兒會(huì)死亡。 假如大夫測(cè)試到疝氣，他們可以在胎兒仍在子宮內(nèi)時(shí)對(duì)其進(jìn)行手術(shù)。

Researchers grew lung organoids from the cells of fetuses with the condition before and after treatment and compared them to organoids from healthy fetuses. Dr. Paolo de Coppi, an author of the study from University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital, said they were able to assess the affected child's condition before birth using this method. Doctors are now unable to tell families much about the outcome of a prenatal diagnosis because each case is different, he said. The ability to study functioning prenatal miniorgans, he added, is the first step toward a more detailed prognosis and more effective treatments.

研究職員從同意治療前后的患病胎兒的細(xì)胞中培育出肺類器官，并將它與健康胎兒的類器官進(jìn)行比較。 倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院和大奧蒙德街醫(yī)院的研究作者之一保羅·德·科皮博士 說，他們用這種辦法可以在出生前評(píng)估患病兒童的狀況。 他說，大夫目前沒辦法向家屬告知產(chǎn)前診斷的結(jié)果，由于每一個(gè)病例都是不一樣的。 他補(bǔ)充說，研究功能性的產(chǎn)前微型器官是朝著更詳細(xì)的預(yù)后和更有效的治療邁出的第一步。

重點(diǎn)詞語

open up 開放 ; 獲得 ; 出現(xiàn) ; 產(chǎn)生 ; 開通 ; 打開心扉 ; 拆開 ; 打開的門 ; 打開話匣子 ; 將開封

organoids 類器官 ; 細(xì)胞器

can be used 可以用 ; 用范圍 ; 能被借助

diseased 患病的 ; 病態(tài)的 ; 有病的

University College 大學(xué)學(xué)院 ; 倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院

United Kingdom 英國(guó)，聯(lián)合王國(guó)

amniotic fluid 羊水

pregnancies 妊娠 ; 懷孕 ; 孕期 ; pregnancy的復(fù)數(shù)

part of 部分

for the first time 首次