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.
科学家从子宫内胎儿周围的液体细胞中培育出微型器官——这一突破有望开启产前医学新范围。
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，或称“类器官”， 是微小的简化结构，可用于测试新的医疗办法或研究它们所模拟的真实器官的工作原理， 无论这类器官是健康的还是患病的。
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.
英国伦敦大学学院和大奥蒙德街医院的研究职员从 12 次怀孕中例行产前检查采集的羊水样本中采集了细胞。 然后，他们初次从活跃妊娠期间获得的细胞中培育出了微型器官。 他们设想，这种办法最后可能能够帮助大夫在出生前监测和治疗先天成人两性疾病，并为子宫内的婴儿开发个性化疗法。
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.
为了检验这种办法的实质作用与功效，英国团队 与比利时的同事合作，研究了一种名为先天性膈疝的婴儿疾病的进步状况， 在这种疾病中，肝脏和肠道等器官因为膈肌上的孔洞而移位到胸腔中。 肺部没办法正常发育，约30%的患有这种疾病的胎儿会死亡。 假如大夫测试到疝气，他们可以在胎儿仍在子宫内时对其进行手术。
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.
研究职员从同意治疗前后的患病胎儿的细胞中培育出肺类器官，并将它与健康胎儿的类器官进行比较。 伦敦大学学院和大奥蒙德街医院的研究作者之一保罗·德·科皮博士 说，他们用这种办法可以在出生前评估患病儿童的状况。 他说，大夫目前没办法向家属告知产前诊断的结果，由于每一个病例都是不一样的。 他补充说，研究功能性的产前微型器官是朝着更详细的预后和更有效的治疗迈出的第一步。
重点词语
open up 开放 ; 获得 ; 出现 ; 产生 ; 开通 ; 打开心扉 ; 拆开 ; 打开的门 ; 打开话匣子 ; 将开封
organoids 类器官 ; 细胞器
can be used 可以用 ; 用范围 ; 能被借助
diseased 患病的 ; 病态的 ; 有病的
University College 大学学院 ; 伦敦大学学院
United Kingdom 英国，联合王国
amniotic fluid 羊水
pregnancies 妊娠 ; 怀孕 ; 孕期 ; pregnancy的复数
part of 部分
for the first time 首次