» This is the first case of robust mammalian oocyte production from male cells. Katsuhiko Hayashi said at the third international summit on human genome editing, which took place on March 8 in London. This Japanese researcher and his team achieved the feat of creating mice with two biological parents. His study is being reviewed for future publications.
Initially, the researchers took skin cells from male mice that had been reprogrammed to behave like induced pluripotent stem cells (that is, capable of differentiating into multiple cell types). The Y chromosomes of these cells were replaced with X chromosomes to obtain the female-specific “XX” combination. Then, fertilization of the synthesized eggs (in an ovarian organoid) with sperm resulted in the creation of approximately 600 embryos. Implanted into carrier mice, these gave rise to seven mice, with an efficiency of only 1%.
Transposing humans to combat infertility
This advance in reproduction may make it possible to combat infertility in humans. For this, it will still be necessary to reproduce the operation in the laboratory with human cells, which is not foreseen at the moment. Some scientists believe that 10 or 20 years will be enough, while others suggest that it will be difficult to implement the technique with the necessary security. With effect, » human cells require much longer culture periods to produce a mature egg, which can increase the risk of cells acquiring unwanted genetic changes “, explain The Guardian.
