Egg Incubator
Biologists have grown full-fledged eggs in the laboratory for the first time
British molecular biologists for the first time were able to turn a woman's ovarian cells into full-fledged eggs using a special cocktail of proteins and signaling molecules, according to an article published in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction (McLaughlin et al., Metaphase II oocytes from human unilaminar follicles grown in a multi-step culture system).
Images of mature human oocytes grown in vitro, obtained using simple optical (A) and confocal (B) microscopes – VM.
"We have learned to manage all stages of egg growth in the laboratory, which significantly expands our arsenal in the fight against infertility. Now we are trying to understand how to change the environmental conditions in order to make the eggs grow even better, and we are studying their viability. In addition, if regulatory authorities allow us to conduct such an experiment, we will check whether they can be fertilized," said Evelyn Telfer from the University of Edinburgh (in the message Lab–grown eggs could aid fertility treatments - VM).
Over the past two decades, biologists have learned how to turn stem cells into tissues of bones, muscles, skin and the nervous system. Such tissues can become "spare parts" in case of damage to the body or medicine for a number of degenerative diseases. Special attention is drawn to the transformation of stem cells into germ cells suitable for implantation into the human body.
Over the past seven years, scientists have achieved significant success in this field – seven years ago they managed to create the first "artificial" spermatozoa, and the year before last – to turn reprogrammed stem cells into eggs and grow offspring from them.
Despite the success, the Japanese scientists who implemented this idea faced one serious problem. Their eggs were not complete – only every 33 of them successfully became an embryo. For comparison, every two of the three "natural" female germ cells usually turn into an embryo, and only one of them dies during fusion.
Telfer and her colleagues took the first step to eliminate this problem by growing full-fledged eggs not from mouse stem cells, but from immature gametes extracted from the ovaries of several dozen female volunteers.
To solve such a problem, as the molecular biologist explains, it is necessary to know several things, including which molecules and other signals cause germ cells to divide and move to the next stage of development, and which substances should be present in the nutrient medium so that these "blanks" of eggs do not die.
In total, scientists had to develop four different sets of similar molecules in order for germ cells to go through all stages of their development and become eggs. In total, about a third of the cells completely passed this path, and the entire process of their growth took about 20 days.
Such a technique of growing eggs, as scientists note, will help solve many problems with infertility, and will allow cancer patients to keep the chances of procreation even if their germ cells are destroyed by radiation or chemotherapy.
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