IN A FIRST, HUMAN EGGS GROWN IN LAB.
Scientists have grown human egg cells to full maturity in the lab in a potential break-through for fertility treatment, they announced in a study published on Friday. Researchers in New York and Edinburgh developed a new method to grow eggs from very early-stage cells obtained from ovary tissue, a team reported in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction. The eggs were grown to the point at which they could be fertilised. This had previously been achieved with mouse egg cells, while human eggs had been successfully cultivated starting from a much later stage of development. "The latest study is the first time a human egg has been developed in the lab from its earliest stage to full majority", said a statement from the University of Edinburgh.
Experts who did not take part in the research hailed the achievement as promising, but stressed it would take years to translate into a safe and proven therapy. The technique holds promise specifically for women who have to go through sterilising treatments such as chemotherapy. It would allow them to freeze early-stage egg cells before undergoing treatment, to be matured in the lab at a later time to be fertilised with sperm to make a baby. Traditionally, cancer patients can have a piece of ovary removed before chemotherapy, but re-implanting the tissue later may risk re-introducing cancer. "This is an elegant piece of work, demonstrating for the first time that human eggs can be grown to maturity in a laboratory", Channa Jayasena of the Imperial College, London said. "It would take several years to translate this into a therapy. However, this is an important breakthrough, which could offer hope to women with infertility in the future". Study co-author Evelyn Telfer of the University of Edinburgh said the team was now studying how healthy the eggs are.
-Challapalli Srinivas Chakravarthy-
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