Scientists Transplant Wombs Into Lab Mice

by ANC Staff

Twelve laboratory mice in Sweden recently gave birth to live pups after scientists surgically transplanted wombs into them from other mice who were genetically identical, then artificially inseminated them with mouse embryos.

Professor Mats Brannstrom, head of the research team at Gothenburg University in Sweden, said the researchers also carried out womb transplants on a second group of mice, with uteri taken from different genetic strains, in order to observe the various symptoms suffered by the mice as the incompatible wombs were rejected and the mice died.

As expected, the rejection process began on the second day after transplantation, became severe and acute by the tenth day, causing arthritis and damaged glands, and by the fifteenth day the mice in the second group all suffered from necrosis and widespread scar tissue, and died soon after.

"The rejection pattern was what we expected - in the vascular ‘tree’ and the endometrial glands," said Professor Brannstrom.

The researchers are continuing their transplantation experiments with mice, and plan to carry out similar experiments on pigs next.

According to Professor Brannstrom, the birth of the mouse pups proves that it may be possible for human females to become pregnant with transplanted uteri, provided the donor is a family relative, the recipient takes immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection, and the uterus is removed again after bearing children.

The California-based Animal Protection Institute (API) estimates that mice, rats, birds and reptiles constitute approximately 90 percent of animals used in laboratory experiments around the world, and yet they are the least protected group and are commonly subjected to lethal vivisection procedures to satisfy scientific curiosity or to demonstrate already-known phenomena.

Frequently, the decision on which species to use for an experiment is not determined solely by the species’ similarity to humans. The cost of acquisition, housing, and easy availability of the animals may be the deciding factors.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.