A groundbreaking scientific feat was recently achieved – mice were born from eggs made entirely from male mouse cells, which means the mice have two fathers and no mother!
In a recent study published in Nature, researchers from Osaka University and Kyushu University in Japan reported their success in turning male cells into eggs.
Through this research, scientists are optimistic that this technology can one day be applied to humans.
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This isn't the first time mice have been born from two fathers. In the past, scientists have done the same thing, but they used genetic engineering and some complicated steps with embryonic cells. Some scientists have also successfully turned female mouse body cells into eggs. However, this is the first time that viable eggs have been created from male cells!
In the new study, scientists described how they isolated skin cells from the tail of a male mouse and cultured them to become pluripotent stem cells, which can develop to become any other type of cell.
As with humans, male mouse cells contain one X and one Y chromosome , while female cells contain two X chromosomes . During culture to become stem cells, about 6 percent of the mouse cells lost the Y chromosome, leaving them as XO. The scientists then used a drug called reversine and a fluorescent protein to double the existing X chromosomes, making the cells XX.
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The scientists then manipulated the XX cells to develop into egg cells, which were then fertilized with the sperm of another male and implanted into a female surrogate mouse.
After 630 attempts, seven baby mice, meaning the rate success of this method was just 1%. Fortunately, all of the mice appear healthy and are fertile. However, careful analysis will be required to identify any differences between these baby mice and those born through traditional mating methods from a female and a male mouse.
“This study provides information that could improve infertility caused by sex chromosome or autosomal disorders and opens up the possibility of reproduction by two fathers,” the study authors write.
However, this technology will take a long time to be applied to humans.
“There are big differences between a mouse and a human,” said Katsuhiko Hayashi, a co-author of the study and a professor of developmental biology at Osaka University in Japan in a presentation at the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. “I don’t know if this kind of technology can really be adapted to human society.”
Human cells require much longer culture periods to produce a mature egg, which can increase the risk of the cells acquiring unwanted genetic changes.
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Human pregnancy lasts 9 months, while mice only last 3 weeks, which means there may be many more obstacles during fetal.
Furthermore, the technology is currently very inefficient , with 99% of attempts failing
Scientists have created the precursor cells of human eggs, but until now the cells stopped growing before the point of meiosis (or mitosis), a crucial step in cell division required for the development of mature eggs and sperm.
“We are at this bottleneck right now. The next steps are a challenge for engineering. But getting past this could take 10 or 20 years“.
We cannot ignore, however, that this is a revolutionary discovery!
Birth by two fathers may sound strange, but it could help couples who wish to have biological children but cannot do so through traditional methods.
Source: www.newsweek.com
