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.

科學家從子宮內胎兒周圍的液體細胞中培育出微型器官——這一突破有望開啟產前醫學新范圍。

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，或稱“類器官”， 是微小的簡化結構，可用于測試新的醫療辦法或研究它們所模擬的真實器官的工作原理， 無論這類器官是健康的還是患病的。

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.

英國倫敦大學學院和大奧蒙德街醫院的研究職員從 12 次懷孕中例行產前檢查采集的羊水樣本中采集了細胞。 然后，他們初次從活躍妊娠期間獲得的細胞中培育出了微型器官。 他們設想，這種辦法最后可能能夠幫助大夫在出生前監測和治療先天成人兩性疾病，并為子宮內的嬰兒開發個性化療法。

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.

為了檢驗這種辦法的實質作用與功效，英國團隊 與比利時的同事合作，研究了一種名為先天性膈疝的嬰兒疾病的進步狀況， 在這種疾病中，肝臟和腸道等器官因為膈肌上的孔洞而移位到胸腔中。 肺部沒辦法正常發育，約30%的患有這種疾病的胎兒會死亡。 假如大夫測試到疝氣，他們可以在胎兒仍在子宮內時對其進行手術。

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.

研究職員從同意治療前后的患病胎兒的細胞中培育出肺類器官，并將它與健康胎兒的類器官進行比較。 倫敦大學學院和大奧蒙德街醫院的研究作者之一保羅·德·科皮博士 說，他們用這種辦法可以在出生前評估患病兒童的狀況。 他說，大夫目前沒辦法向家屬告知產前診斷的結果，由于每一個病例都是不一樣的。 他補充說，研究功能性的產前微型器官是朝著更詳細的預后和更有效的治療邁出的第一步。

重點詞語

open up 開放 ; 獲得 ; 出現 ; 產生 ; 開通 ; 打開心扉 ; 拆開 ; 打開的門 ; 打開話匣子 ; 將開封

organoids 類器官 ; 細胞器

can be used 可以用 ; 用范圍 ; 能被借助

diseased 患病的 ; 病態的 ; 有病的

University College 大學學院 ; 倫敦大學學院

United Kingdom 英國，聯合王國

amniotic fluid 羊水

pregnancies 妊娠 ; 懷孕 ; 孕期 ; pregnancy的復數

part of 部分

for the first time 首次