Abstract
Parthenogenetic activation of human oocytes obtained from infertility treatments has gained new interest in recent years as an alternative approach to create embryos with no reproductive purpose for research in areas such as assisted reproduction technologies itself, somatic cell, and nuclear transfer experiments and for derivation of clinical grade pluripotent embryonic stem cells for regenerative medicine. Different activating methods have been tested on human and nonhuman oocytes, with varying degrees of success in terms of parthenote generation rates, embryo development stem cell derivation rates. Success in achieving a standardized artificial activation methodology for human oocytes and the subsequent potential therapeutic gain obtained from these embryos depends mainly on the availability of gametes donated from infertility treatments. This review will focus on the creation of parthenotes from clinically unusable oocytes for derivation and establishment of human parthenogenetic stem cell lines and their potential applications in regenerative medicine.
Highlights
Parthenogenesis is a reproduction strategy common in some jawed vertebrate species such as the whiptail lizard (Aspidoscelis uniparens) [1], in which no sperm is involved to trigger embryonic development from the oocyte and the female generates an offspring with no paternal inheritance
Why do we study parthenogenesis in the scope of assisted reproduction technologies (ART) if no human baby can be generated from this reproductive maneuver?
intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is performed with the aid of a pair of glass pipettes adjusted to an inverted microscope, where the embryologist holds the oocyte with one pipette and injects the chosen spermatozoon with the second pipette straight into the ooplasm
Summary
Parthenogenesis is a reproduction strategy common in some jawed vertebrate species such as the whiptail lizard (Aspidoscelis uniparens) [1], in which no sperm is involved to trigger embryonic development from the oocyte and the female generates an offspring with no paternal inheritance. The creation of clinical grade parthenogenetic human embryonic stem cell (hpESC) lines have the potential to benefit a considerable large number of patients, when used in cell therapies, with a reduced risk of transplant rejection. The establishment of parthenogenetic clinical grade human embryonic stem cell lines for use in cell or tissue therapies will only be possible, if research laboratories obtain enough biological material from ART centers to evaluate activation strategies, derivation, and culture media adequate for future therapeutic use of phESC lines. ICSI is performed with the aid of a pair of glass pipettes adjusted to an inverted microscope, where the embryologist holds the oocyte with one pipette and injects the chosen spermatozoon with the second pipette straight into the ooplasm
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