Scientists have created a model of human embryos. They can unlock the "black box" of early development
Researchers have created a model human embryo using naive pluripotent stem cells.Researchers have used naive pluripotent stem cells to create an embryo model that looks and "works" like a natural and human embryo. Scientists emphasize that this is the best ethical way to study embryonic development, which will help in the treatment and diagnosis of fetal birth defects and infertility.
It is in the first month of development that the most interesting and mysterious things happen, the scientists write. Jacob Hanna, corresponding author of the study calls this period a "black box". "Our model of a human embryo grown from stem cells offers an ethical and accessible way to peer into this box. The model mimics the development of a real human embryo, especially the emergence of its exquisite architecture," the scientist explains.
The study authors divided naive pluripotent stem cells into three groups. Those that were supposed to develop into an embryo remained as they were. The cells in the other two groups were treated with chemicals only, that is, genetically unmodified. The goal was to incorporate certain genes intended for them to differentiate into one of the three tissue types needed to sustain an embryo. Soon after mixing, the cells fused together, and about 1% of them self-organized into complete, embryonic structures.
The embryonic structures developed normally outside the uterus for eight days, reaching a developmental stage equivalent to the fourteenth day of human embryonic development.
The researchers found that their embryo models were structurally similar to natural human embryos. It even appeared to have cells that produce chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This hormone is used to test for pregnancy.
The study is published in the journal Nature.