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Presenting Arms
28 June 2015

Presenting Arms

Researchers have created a rat’s front leg – with working blood vessels and muscles – in the lab. To build the limb, the research team stripped all the living cells from the front legs of dead rats using a detergent solution in a way that preserved the limb’s structure, like a leg-shaped scaffold. Meanwhile, they grew muscle and blood vessel stem cells in culture, which they later injected into the cell-free rat limb, as shown here. When electrically stimulated, the limb’s muscles contracted with 80 per cent of the strength seen in newborn rats. Transplanted into live animals, the limb’s blood vessels quickly filled with blood that continued to circulate. Using a baboon’s arm, the researchers showed that the same approach could be applied to primates and suggest that these bioengineered limbs could one day be used for transplantation in humans.

Written by Nick Kennedy

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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