New gene study reveals human eggs can be produced from skin cells in scientific first
Scientists have created human eggs from skin cells in a world-first breakthrough that could allow same-sex male couples to have biological children together.
In a fertility breakthrough that could change the way we conceive, babies could now be born without mothers.
US researchers created functional human eggs from skin cells, as revealed in a paper published in Nature Communications on Wednesday.
The revolutionary study means same-sex male couples or infertile women could now biologically have a child.
The egg was created from a skin cell, it was then fertilised and started to grow into an embryo, until the experiment was stopped six days in.
Current parenthood plans for same-sex partnerships primarily include surrogacy, IVF, and donors, in which only one individual involved would be biologically related to the baby.
This medical milestone would allow two men to have a child together, using both their DNA.
“We achieved something that was thought to be impossible,” Director of the OHSU Centre for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy Shoukhrat Mitalipov said.
“Nature gave us two methods of cell division, and we just developed a third.”
Despite the exciting outcome, this does not mean we will start seeing it as an option in clinics straight away.
“I want to be careful not to overstate the findings of this work,” Paula Amato, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Oregon Health and Science University said.
“We are still years, if not more than a decade, away from human IVG (in vitro gametogenesis) being clinically available.”
She shared how, as well as opening doors for same-sex couples, women would significantly benefit from the findings.
“If successful, IVG would offer new hope for treating age-related female infertility, premature ovarian insufficiency, would allow same-sex couples to have children genetically related to both partners, and would increase the potential utility and efficiency of embryo genetic screening and editing.”
The experiment was based on research from Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, which was done in the 1990s at the Roslin Institute in Scotland.
A nucleus from an adult sheep was taken and placed into a sheep egg that had its nucleus removed.
Dolly lived healthily for six-and-a-half years and had six lambs.
In the Oregon study, the nucleus was removed from various skin cells and placed into lab-made pseudo-eggs, which were later fertilised with sperm using IVF.
None of the embryos were permitted to grow beyond six days as they would have developed abnormalities, but it’s believed the process can be fine-tuned to avoid defects in the future.
In other labs, researchers said the breakthrough will advance IVG, which creates sex cells from regular cells.
Mice with two fathers have already been born using this technique.
While the genetic industry tentatively hails the breakthrough as a win for future parents, it’s clear that widespread impact on everyday life is still a long way off.
