Scientists from Oregon Health & Science University announced a major breakthrough in reproductive medicine. For the first time, they managed to create human eggs from skin cells. This procedure opens the possibility that In the future, children could be conceived even without a biological mother – For example, using a man’s skin cells, placed in a donated egg, which could then be fertilized by another man’s sperm.
In theory, it could be a child of two men without a genetic share of a woman. At the same time, the method can help women who have lost their own eggs, such as cancer treatment.
“Many women cannot have a family because they have lost their eggs, which can occur for various reasons, including cancer treatment. The ability to create new eggs would be huge progress. The authors of this study show that the genetic material of skin cells can be used to form an egg -like egg with the right number of chromosomes that can be fertilized and developed in the early embryo. There will be very important security issues, but this study is a step for many women to have their own genetic children, ”said Professor Richard Anderson, Deputy Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, who did not participate in the research.
The technique is based on the so -called. Somatic cell transmission of cells – transfer of the core from the patient’s skin cell to the donated egg from which the nucleus was removed. The problem has so far been that skin cells contain two sets of chromosomes (46), while eggs have only one set (23) thanks to meiosis. Thus, without intervention, eggs with excess orchard chromosomes would be formed. A team of scientists has solved this problem by introducing a process called mitomeiosis.
It imitates the natural division of cells (mitosis), but causes to discard one set of chromosomes (meiosis). It thus imitates natural meiosis in which sex cells with one orchard of chromosomes (23) arise. However, since it is meiosis of somatic cells, it is called mitomeiosis. Indeed, the division of somatic cells is called mitosis (there is no division of a set of chromosomes).
As part of the tests It managed to create 82 functional eggs that were fertilized in the laboratory. Approximately 9 % of them developed to the Blastocysta stage, ie the early embryo phase. However, researchers did not continue to continue, Because it would usually be transferred to the uterus within the IVF. However, the authors also revealed fundamental restrictions. Most eggs (91 %) did not develop further after fertilization and some blastocýst found chromosomal abnormalities. Nevertheless, experts assess the result as a fundamental step forward.
