• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Baby Mice Born From Two Fathers Thanks To Egg Cells Derived From Males

March 15, 2023 by Deborah Bloomfield

Stem cells from male mice have been successfully converted into cells containing two X chromosomes. These cells were then differentiated into eggs and fertilized with sperm, resulting in the births of seven healthy baby mice. It’s a landmark finding, and it was made possible thanks to an issue that’s long been a headache for scientists attempting to culture stem cells.

Stem cell research has been responsible for some of the biggest biological breakthroughs in recent years, offering hope for the treatment of disease, tissue regeneration, and maybe even computers based on human brains. However, culturing stem cells for the lengths of time needed to perform such incredible experiments comes with its share of potential pitfalls.

Advertisement

After a period of time, cultured stem cells can start to pick up genetic errors. An example of this is aneuploidy, which arises when chromosomes are incorrectly deleted or duplicated. Aneuploidy can affect any of the chromosomes inside our cells; Down syndrome is famously caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. In this case, we’re interested in aneuploidy that specifically affects the sex chromosomes.

In humans – and, importantly for this story, in mice too – biological sex is determined by two sex chromosomes. Biologically female cells have two copies of the X chromosome; biologically male cells have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. 

In the new study, the scientists used XY stem cells obtained from male mice, which were converted into pluripotent stem cells and cultured. As the cells naturally began to pick up errors, a small subset (about 6 percent) lost their Y chromosomes. As the team continued to propagate these so-called “XO” cells, they began to see duplication of the remaining X chromosome, which they were also able to help on its way with the use of a drug called reversine.

Eventually, the authors found themselves with a population of XX cells. In other words, from the starting culture of biologically male cells, they now had a small culture of female cells. Since stem cells have the potential to differentiate into many different cell types, it was possible to induce the XX cells down a path toward becoming functional eggs, which could then be fertilized.

Advertisement

Out of 630 fertilized embryos that the authors implanted into a mouse uterus, around 1 percent – seven in total – grew into healthy mouse pups.

That might not sound like a lot, and this low efficiency is highlighted as one of several limitations of the protocol in an accompanying News and Views article by Drs Jonathan Bayerl and Diana Laird of the University of California, San Francisco, who did not take part in the research.

However, as a jumping-off point for further research, it’s certainly a remarkable result. One day, this kind of technology could provide options for women with infertility due to a condition called Turner syndrome, which results in them having only one copy of the X chromosome. 

And speaking to New Scientist, senior author Dr Katsuhiko Hayashi hinted that this work could be a stepping-stone towards same-sex male couples being able to have biological children of their own: “What I can say is only about the technological side. I think in theory it is possible.”

Advertisement

It’s not yet known if this technique would work in human stem cells, and lots more research is needed. If anything, as Bayerl and Laird point out, these new findings show us how much we still don’t know about this burgeoning field of study: “[We] have much to learn before we use cultured stem cells to make human eggs in a dish.”

The study and accompanying News and Views article are both published in Nature.

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Chinese #MeToo plaintiff heads back to court for what could be last time
  2. How Ford’s electrification footprint will change with planned investments
  3. TechCrunch+ roundup: VCs rate pitch decks, IPO analysis, Techstars’ expansion plans
  4. Apple asks judge to pause Epic Games antitrust orders as it appeals ruling

Source Link: Baby Mice Born From Two Fathers Thanks To Egg Cells Derived From Males

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • DNA From Greenland Sled Dogs – Maybe The World’s Oldest Breed – Reveals 1,000 Years Of Arctic History
  • Why Doesn’t Moonrise Shift By The Same Amount Each Night?
  • Moa De-Extinction, Fashionable Chimps, And Robot Surgery – No Human Required
  • “Human”: Powerful New Images Mark The Most Scientifically Accurate “Hyper-Real 3D Models Of Human Species Ever”
  • Did We Accidentally Leave Life On The Moon In 2019 – And Could We Revive It?
  • 1.8 Million Years Ago, Two Extinct Humans Had One Of The Gnarliest Deaths In History
  • “Powerful Image” Of One Of The World’s Rarest Tigers Exposes The Real Danger In Taman Negara
  • Evolution, Domestication, And A Lot Of Very Good Boys: How Wolves Became Dogs
  • Why Do Orcas Have White Spots Near Their Eyes?
  • Tomb Of First King Of Ancient Maya City Discovered In Belize
  • The Real Reason The Tip Of Your Tape Measure Wiggles Like That
  • The “Haunting” Last Message From NASA’s Opportunity Rover, Sent From Inside A Planet-Wide Storm
  • Adorable Video Proves Not All Gorillas Hate The Rain. It Might Even Win One A Mate
  • 5,000-Year-Old Rock Art May Show One Of Ancient Egypt’s First Rulers
  • Alzheimer’s-Linked Protein Levels “20 Times Higher” In Newborn Babies – What Does This Mean?
  • Americans Were Asked If They Thought Civil War Was Coming. The Results Were Unexpected
  • Voyager 1 & 2 Could Be Detected From Almost A Light-Year Away With Our Current Technology
  • Dams Have Nudged Earth’s Poles By Over 1 Meter In The Past 200 Years
  • This Sugar Could Be A Cure For Male Pattern Baldness – And It’s Been In Our Bodies All Along
  • “Cosmic Immigrants”: Daytime Star Seen In 1604 May Be An “Alien Type Ia Supernova”
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version