American scientists have bred first-ever sheep who 15 % consisted of human cells, thus having created the first humanized sheep. Professor Esmail Sandzani from university of Nevada has spent about 7 years for work and 9,8 million dollars on perfection of the given technology, informs agency Sinhua.
The scientist used marrow stem cells of the donor which were located in peritoneum of sheep fetus. The given research, to the author’s opinion, has a great importance for medicine as it will allow to transplant hybrid sheep organs to people. 2 months later after such injection a lamb was born. It has a liver, heart, lungs and a brain which partly consist of human cells and are suitable for transplantation.
Animals rights protection activists are afraid, that if cells are mixed together, it may end in cellular alloying, having created a hybrid which would have features and characteristics of the person, and a sheep. But Professor Sandzani assured: “Cells transplantation to embryonic sheep in this early stage does not lead to alloying in general”.