In a little-known published study, scientists at Oregon Health & Science University reported the birth of three mouse pups created using an unprecedented reproductive method. The researchers used a common cloning technique to remove genetic material from a female mouse egg and replace it with nuclear DNA from another mouse's skin cell. They then used a novel chemical mixture to prompt the egg to discard half of its new chromosome set before fertilizing it with mouse sperm.
In a significant step toward the more ambitious reproductive-medicine goal of in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), the team led by pioneering fertility researcher Shoukhrat Mitalipov now intends to use the same method to create artificial human embryos.
If successful, the research could create major possibilities for treating infertility, preventing genetic disease and enabling same-sex couples to have genetically related children. “This is a high-risk, high-reward project. We do not yet know whether it will work, but age-related fertility decline remains a difficult problem in our field, so we are very grateful to the private funders addressing a real need,” said Paula Amato, an obstetrics, gynecology and infertility specialist at Oregon Health & Science University.
Mitalipov directs the Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy at Oregon Health & Science University. Since its establishment in 2013, the center has focused on combining assisted reproductive technology with gene-correction techniques, with the goal of one day preventing inherited disease.
The group's work on IVG in human cells received an award from Open Philanthropy, a grantmaking organization funded primarily by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife, Cari Tuna. It will provide the researchers with $4 million over the next three years. Experts told STAT that the funding and involvement of a prominent scientist such as Mitalipov make the ethical and legal questions surrounding large-scale egg and sperm production more urgent.
No U.S. federal law prohibits this type of IVG work. Congress, however, has barred federal funding for research that creates, destroys or intentionally harms human embryos. State laws governing human-embryo research vary widely: 11 states prohibit it entirely, 5 explicitly permit it, and many others occupy a gray area.
Moving IVG from a research laboratory to a fertility clinic would require authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is unclear whether the agency could consider it because a current spending-bill rider prevents the FDA from accepting requests for clinical trials that seek to establish pregnancies using genetically modified embryos. In 2019, Congress considered changing the ban after advocacy by scientists and supporters of mitochondrial replacement therapy, also known as three-parent IVF, but ultimately renewed it. Mitochondrial replacement combines genetic material from an egg and sperm with mitochondria from a female donor.
News | Researchers revive abandoned technique in attempt to create artificial human eggs in the laboratory
In a little-known published study, scientists at Oregon Health & Science University reported the birth of three mouse pups created using an unprecedented reproductive method. The researchers used a common cloning technique to remove genetic material from a female mouse egg and replace it with nuclear DNA from another mouse's skin cell. They then used a novel chemical mixture to prompt the egg to discard half of its new chromosome set before fertilizing it with mouse sperm.
In a significant step toward the more ambitious reproductive-medicine goal of in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), the team led by pioneering fertility researcher Shoukhrat Mitalipov now intends to use the same method to create artificial human embryos.
If successful, the research could create major possibilities for treating infertility, preventing genetic disease and enabling same-sex couples to have genetically related children. “This is a high-risk, high-reward project. We do not yet know whether it will work, but age-related fertility decline remains a difficult problem in our field, so we are very grateful to the private funders addressing a real need,” said Paula Amato, an obstetrics, gynecology and infertility specialist at Oregon Health & Science University.
Mitalipov directs the Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy at Oregon Health & Science University. Since its establishment in 2013, the center has focused on combining assisted reproductive technology with gene-correction techniques, with the goal of one day preventing inherited disease.
The group's work on IVG in human cells received an award from Open Philanthropy, a grantmaking organization funded primarily by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife, Cari Tuna. It will provide the researchers with $4 million over the next three years. Experts told STAT that the funding and involvement of a prominent scientist such as Mitalipov make the ethical and legal questions surrounding large-scale egg and sperm production more urgent.
No U.S. federal law prohibits this type of IVG work. Congress, however, has barred federal funding for research that creates, destroys or intentionally harms human embryos. State laws governing human-embryo research vary widely: 11 states prohibit it entirely, 5 explicitly permit it, and many others occupy a gray area.
Moving IVG from a research laboratory to a fertility clinic would require authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is unclear whether the agency could consider it because a current spending-bill rider prevents the FDA from accepting requests for clinical trials that seek to establish pregnancies using genetically modified embryos. In 2019, Congress considered changing the ban after advocacy by scientists and supporters of mitochondrial replacement therapy, also known as three-parent IVF, but ultimately renewed it. Mitochondrial replacement combines genetic material from an egg and sperm with mitochondria from a female donor.
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