For the first time, Dutch scientists have managed to create and successfully introduce into the uterus of mice artificial embryos made of cells other than an egg and a sperm. This is a pioneering achievement because while other researchers were also obtaining artificial embryos, they did not insert them into the uterus.
The research is not intended to clone humans or animals, but to understand the mechanisms by which, in many cases, the embryo does not implant, making it impossible to become pregnant. Thanks to the acquired knowledge, it could be possible to help infertile couples.
Many miscarriages occur before a woman realizes she is pregnant when the fertilized egg is unable to implant into the uterus. Experts don’t quite understand why this happens, though it is likely linked to abnormalities in the developing embryo.
Studying the development of early embryos is both ethically and technically difficult.
Stem cells are immature cells that can transform into many different types of cells in the early stages of an organism’s development.
Dr Nicolas Rivron of the Merlin Institute at Maastricht University and his team created embryo-like structures by fusing two types of mouse stem cells.
The artificial embryos produced in the laboratory looked identical to the real blastocyst-stage embryos, from which both the baby and the placenta are formed. Introduced into the uterus of female mice, they nested in them and developed for several days. Studying this process can help human fertility, experts say.
‘We can now generate a very large number of these embryos and study them in detail, which can help us understand why some embryos cannot be implanted and allow us to scan for drugs that can help preserve fertility,’ Dr Rivron told the BBC.
He added that there are no plans yet to conduct research on artificial human embryos.
Dr. Harry Leitch, group leader at MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences and Honorary Clinical Lecturer at Imperial College London, said this was the most successful attempt to date to build an early embryo from a stem cell line.
Dr Dusko Ilic, a stem cell expert at King’s College London, said (summed up the research by saying): “ This is the first time scientists have been able to shed light on the molecular mechanisms of implantation, and these findings could help us better understand some aspects of infertility and improve outcomes assisted reproduction.
Based on: BBC