Lab creates human embryonic cells

According to new research published in the journal Cell, the creation of PGCs in the lab could help bolster our understanding of fertility and could lead to the development of novel reproductive technologies.

PGCs are the human embryonic cells that develop into sperm and ova, and by studying these cells in the lab, it may be possible to yield insight into the earliest stages of embryonic development, the research team led by scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Cambridge University said.

“Researchers have been attempting to create human primordial germ cells in the petri dish for years

Study leader Jacob Hanna

“Researchers have been attempting to create human primordial germ cells in the petri dish for years,” said Jacob Hanna of the Institute’s Molecular Genetics Department, who led the study.

“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,” Hanna said.

To conduct its research, Hanna’s team employed a technique which stems from the ability to reprogramme induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells to look and act like embryonic stem cells - which, according to Hanna, creates a strong drive within the cell to differentiate.

Hanna and his team then created a method for tuning down the genetic pathway for differentiation, thereby creating a new type of IPS cell dubbed ’naïve cells’.

According to Hanna, these naïve cells appeared to rejuvenate IPS cells one step further, closer to the original embryonic state from which they can truly differentiate into any cell type.

Alongside the lab group from Cambridge University, the scientists tested and refined their reprogramming method.

By adding a glowing red fluorescent marker to the genes for PGCs, the team was able to gauge how many of the cells had been programmed. The results showed that up to 40% had become PGCs.

For Hanna, there are several hurdles to overcome before laboratories will be able to complete the chain of events that move an adult cell through the cycle of embryonic stem cell and around to sperm or ova.

However, he is confident that it will one day be possible to use his research to help enable women who, for example, have undergone chemotherapy or premature menopause to conceive.