Posted by  Gerald Schatten, an American stem cell researcher with interests in cell, developmental, and reproductive biology. Posted on IVF-Worldwide.com on 07 Oct, 2012.

Notwithstanding the publication last week of our paper generating haploid round spermatid-like cells in vitro from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) [Easley et al.,  Direct Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Haploid Spermatogenic CellsCell Reports 2, 440–446, September 27,  2012], this week another highly significant breakthrough is reported in the jouirnal SCIENCE.

In their paper entitled:    Offspring from Oocytes Derived from in vitro Primordial Germ Cell–like Cells,Drs. Katsuhiko Hayashi,Sugako Ogushi, Kazuki Kurimoto, So Shimamoto, Hiroshi Ohta, from the lab of Prof Mitinori Saitou report that: “Reconstitution of female germ-cell development in vitro is a key challenge in reproductive biology and medicine. We show here that female (XX) embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in mice are induced into primordial germ cell–like cells (PGCLCs), which, when aggregated with female gonadal somatic cells as reconstituted ovaries, undergo X-reactivation, imprint erasure, cyst formation, and exhibit meiotic potential. Upon transplantation under mouse ovarian bursa, PGCLCs in the reconstituted ovaries mature into germinal vesicle-stage oocytes, which then contribute to fertile offspring after in vitro maturation and fertilization. Our culture system serves as a robust foundation for the investigation of key properties of female germ cells, including the acquisition of totipotency, and for the reconstitution of whole female germ-cell development in vitro.”

 Please recognize though that extrapolations to ART clinical activities are highly speculative at this stage. This work teaches us surprising features about oogenesis in vitro IN MICE.  So unless your patients are rodents, please do not let  ‘fertile’imaginations run wild yet…

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