Organoids: Promising Research and Ethical Dilemmas

by Susie Kownik | January 20, 2024

Organoids are three-dimensional structures cultivated in an environment adapted from induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS) or human embryonic stem cells (CSEH).

Faithfully reproducing an organ opens the way to many applications such as understanding the development of organs and diseases that affect them, the evaluation of new treatments and drugs, improving cell transplantation, or even organs, or personalization of care.”

“There are many promises of organoids” evokes Bernard Baertschi, philosopher and member of the Inserm organizing committee in the letter of biomedicine that the eponymous agency has devoted to this subject.

Understanding Organoids

Marine Jeantet, Director General of the Biomedicine Agency (ABM), defines organoids as “Three-dimensional structures, Cultivated in an environment adapted from induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS) or human embryonic stem cells (CSEH), which are able to differentiate themselves and self-organize to form real small organs.”

Scientist successfully grown organoids from cells present in amniotic fluid. These organoids could help to monitor and treat congenital diseases.

Promising Research

Research on organoids has expanded rapidly, with almost all parts of the human body being recreated.

Researchers have produced organoids from cells in amniotic fluid. These organoids could be used to monitor and treat congenital diseases before birth. Researchers believe that the study of exiting organoids will benefit greatly in understanding the brain development life stages from infancy to adulthood to old age, concluding with treating diseases that appear in adulthood and curing brain cancerous tumors.

Other research includes using stem cells from children with idiopathic autism to develop organoids of the cerebral cortex and develop therapies that could improve the “intellectual and social functioning.”

Ethical Concerns and Challenges

Brain Organoids

The study of the brain and its development is still very limited, which can only be done on post-mortem tissues. However, these limitations seem to be progressively losing ground. Recent advancements in lab-cultivated human brain organoids, also known as cerebroids, have raised serious ethical concerns. This rise in interest has led to significant breakthroughs and challenges.

In 2021, an international team reported having developed “cerebroids with eye embryos,” proving their ability to form eye structures, which raises concerns about the cognitive and moral implications of continuing such research.

Less than 18 months later, a human brain organoid implanted in a mouse, and noted to “respond to a luminous stimulus.

These advancements have led to concerns about the potential for developing consciousness in brain organoids. Researchers have raised the alarm about the potential for “moral humanization” of animal subjects, which could lead to “increased capacities” or “humanized features” as emphasized by University of Kyoto researcher Tsutomu Sawai.

“The concern is not so much the risk of a biological humanization of the animal, which can occur with any organoid, but that of a moral humanization, which is specific to the brain, estimates Tsutomu Sawai.”

Potential Ethical Issues

Ethical concerns extend beyond brain organoids. Researchers have noted that the use of induced pluripotent stem cells, including those requiring human embryonic stem cells, poses “a major ethical concern” mainly because extracting stem cells will inevitably destroy human embryos, raising concerns about legality and morality.

The Agency sought to address the ethical issues related to stem cell research and acknowledged the need for specific regulations and guidance for researchers. The Biomedicine Agency (ABM) emphasize the importance of developing a regulatory framework that provides relevant ethical guidelines and alined with moral policymaking standards. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the ABM does not want to alter the state of affairs with an actual post-implementation reality check.

The “progressive control” allows the regulatory authorities to continue their ongoing research without having stricter oversight on scientific innovations

Public Perception and Future Directions

While the ABM emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations, the progress in organoid research continues to be the driver towards innovative medical experimentation. This ongoing research has led to significant advances, notable through partnerships with Silicon Valley tech companies as they developed a “hybrid computer composed of electronics and tissues similar to those of the human brain. This new technology will target specific diseases, including autism and schizophrenia, “difficult to achieve in animals,” as already suggested and justified by some of their own personnel in the near past.

In fact, the recent advancement to scope Silicon Valley is that finalSpark, a Swiss startup, is also market-ready and commercializing access to “brainoware,” using living human brain organoids connected to silicon chips. The ethical implications of commercializing such advanced technologies are clearly at the helm of concern for the American public, needing immediate consideration and addressing by all regulatory authorities.Since organoids are presented as promising alternatives to animal experimentation, it is critical to consider how these advancements plan to integrate without compromising moral acceptance and public perception as a whole.

“Will they be able to one day know that to sleep?

The European Union’s Response

While the ABM will have to collaborate with its European counterparts within the scope of the European Union program for Horizon 2020. This response could shape FED lawmaking. The Horizon 2020 program is a European Union program for research and innovation, funded by the European Union for research and innovation through collaborative projects.

The international study, will “attach specific directives and guidelines,” clearly emphasizing the immune-boosting techniques while collaborating in adventurous experimentation that may not yet have been adopted in America. It also indicates that an Organization Wishes to “guarantee the ethics and integrity of research on organoids.