Embryonic stem cells without loss of embryo

2008/09/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia
• Medikuntza
• Etika

Researchers at the Vrije University in Brussels have taken a step forward in the search for embryonic stem cells. The results were presented at the last meeting of the European Association of Embryology and Human Reproduction, in which the researchers highlighted the improvement of two aspects: on the one hand, the technique facilitates the obtaining of stem cells for their therapeutic use and, on the other, the embryo that is extracted does not suffer damage.

To date, attempts to obtain stem cells of embryonic origin have usually departed from the embryo of eight cells. By then, embryo cells are somewhat specialized, are pluripotent, and it is difficult to work with them. In the four-cell phase, the cells are totipotent, that is, each of them has the ability to give a complete embryo. With the technique they now present, it is possible to extract to the embryo a cell with this capacity and use it to develop in a simple way all the types of cells that are necessary in the therapy.

In addition, when they leave the embryo of eight cells, they usually lose the embryo. And in the cases in which it advances, the researchers do not know clearly if, despite having the embryo implanted in the uterus and developed completely, the child would be born without shortages. On this occasion, they have shown that the embryo of three cells develops properly, at least until the next phase.