London: Using human embryonic stem cells, scientists for the first time have created primordial germ cells, which go on to become egg and sperm, in the lab.
The pioneering results can help scientists provide answers to fertility problems, yield insight into the earliest stages of embryonic development and enable the development of new kinds of reproductive technology in the near future.
The creation of primordial germ cells is one of the earliest events during early mammalian development.
"It is a stage we have managed to recreate using stem cells from mice and rats, but until now few researches have done this systematically using human stem cells," said first author Naoko Irie from University of Cambridge.
The team at the Weizmann Institute of Science - a public research university in Rehovot, Israel - and University of Cambridge jointly managed the feat.
"Researchers have been attempting to create human primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the petri dish for years," added Jacob Hanna of the Weizmann's molecular genetics department.
PGCs arise within the early weeks of embryonic growth as the embryonic stem cells in the fertilised egg begin to differentiate into the very basic cell types.
Once these primordial cells become "specified", they continue developing toward precursor sperm cells or ova - pretty much on autopilot.
Working with naïve human embryonic stem and pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, the research team managed to produce cells that, in both cases, appeared to be identical to human PGCs.
Together with the lab group of Azim Surani of Cambridge University, the scientists further tested and refined the method jointly in both labs.
By adding a glowing red fluorescent marker to the genes for PGCs, they were able to gauge how many of the cells had been programmed.
Their results showed that quite a high rate - up to 40 percent - had become PGCs - the first step in creating human sperm and ova.
The paper appeared in the journal Cell.
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
An angry opposition Wednesday created a ruckus in the Vidhan Parishad, the upper house of the Maharashtra state legislature, after the BJP-Shiv Sena government headed by Devendra Fadnavis refused to table the Muslim Reservation Bill in the house..... More
Also Read: Maharashtra govt ignores Muslims, passes bill for Maratha reservation
Former Jordanian Prime Minister Abdelsalam al-Majali Saturday walked out of the India Ideas Conclave 2014 held in Goa protesting the anti Muslim remarks by Belgian Indologist Koenraad Elst...... More
Jammu and Kashmir was Tuesday headed for a hung assembly with the BJP putting up a spectacular show in the Hindu-majority Jammu region and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) proving the leader in the largely Muslim Kashmir Valley .... More
Also Read: Jharkhand gets BJP government, Modi says its for stability
The Hindu nationalist have constantly dinned into our consciousness that Muslims are separatists, terrorists and communal. There is a suspicion that any political party led and dominated by Muslims would ultimately lead to a second partition of the country.... More
President of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and Hyderabad MP while participating in a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the issue of religious conversion urged the BJP government to stop those behind the 'ugly agenda' at the same time stating that the such programs would not scare the Muslims.. .... More
Also Read: Post 'conversion attempt', Agra Muslims are more staunch believers in Islam
Ever since the terror attack took place Dec 16 at a school in Peshawar where over 140 people, mostly children, were killed, hashtags like #PeshawarAttack and #IndiawithPakistan have been trending on Twitter, creating a bridge to connect citizens of the two neighbouring nations...... More
Also Read: Dilip Kumar grieves for hometown Peshawar