In a groundbreaking experiment, US researchers have created early-stage human embryos using DNA taken from ordinary skin cells and fertilising them with sperm. This could open new doors for treating infertility and even allow same-sex couples to have genetically related children. While still in its infancy, the technique has the potential to transform reproductive medicine but it may take a decade of refinement before it could be used in fertility clinics. Experts also stress the importance of public discussions about the ethical and social implications. Changing the rules of Reproduction Traditionally, reproduction involves sperm meeting an egg, forming an embryo, and, nine months later, a baby. But scientists are now rewriting this story, starting instead with human skin. The Oregon Health and Science University team developed a method that removes the nucleus from a skin cell housing the complete genetic instructions for the body and places it into a donor egg that has had its own DNA removed. This approach is similar to the cloning technique used to create Dolly the Sheep in 1997. How it works The experiment showed that DNA from ordinary body cells can be inserted into an egg, which is then “activated” to behave like an egg or sperm. According to Professor Ying Cheong of the University of Southampton, who was not involved in the study, this breakthrough could someday help us understand infertility, miscarriage, and even create egg- or sperm-like cells for people with no other options. However, the eggs created in the lab already contain a full set of 46 chromosomes 23 from the skin cell and 23 from the donor egg. Normally, eggs and sperm halve their chromosomes during a process called meiosis. To mimic this, researchers developed a method they call “mitomeiosis”, a mix of mitosis and meiosis, to make the egg discard half its chromosomes. The Current Results The study, published in Nature Communications, produced 82 functional eggs. Some of these were fertilised with sperm and developed into early embryos, but none progressed beyond six days. “This achievement was once thought impossible,” said Professor Shoukhrat Mitalipov, director of the university’s Centre for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy. Yet, the process is still far from perfect. The eggs randomly discard chromosomes, sometimes keeping duplicates or losing others entirely, which could lead to disease. The success rate is low around 9% and the chromosomes miss a critical step called “crossing over,” which normally rearranges DNA to increase genetic diversity. The Road Ahead Professor Mitalipov believes the technique represents the future of reproductive medicine. “We have to perfect it,” he said. “There are more and more patients who cannot have children, and this could eventually offer them hope.” For now, the work is an exciting proof of concept, showing that ordinary cells could one day be used to create life, fundamentally changing the way we understand human reproduction.
The post Scientists create fertilized human eggs using skin cells and sperm:This method could help people with age or disease related infertility by turning almost any body cell into life appeared first on Tri-Cities India.