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Human blastocysts for the development of embryonic stem cells
Anita Sjögren1, Thorir Hardarson, Katarina Andersson
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden.
Reproductive Biomedicine Online
|September 9, 2004
Summary
Frozen-thawed embryos are more effective for establishing human embryonic stem cell (hES) lines than fresh embryos. This method offers a higher success rate for hES derivation from in vitro fertilization (IVF) surplus embryos.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Biology
- Stem Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Human embryonic stem cell (hES) derivation is crucial for regenerative medicine and disease modeling.
- Previous studies have shown success in establishing hES lines from surplus human in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos cultured to the blastocyst stage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize blastocysts used for hES cell line establishment.
- To compare the efficiency of hES derivation from fresh versus frozen-thawed human embryos.
- To evaluate different hES establishment techniques.
Main Methods:
- Derivation of 22 hES cell lines from 114 blastocysts (19.3% success rate).
- Utilized both fresh and frozen-thawed cleavage-stage embryos cultured to blastocysts.
- Applied direct blastocyst application on feeder cells and standard immunosurgery methods.
Main Results:
- Blastocysts of varying morphological quality were used for hES establishment.
- Frozen-thawed embryos yielded hES cell lines 3.7 times more efficiently than fresh embryos.
- The study identified optimal conditions for hES derivation from surplus IVF embryos.
Conclusions:
- Frozen-thawed human embryos are superior to fresh embryos for establishing hES cell lines.
- This approach enhances the efficiency of hES derivation and circumvents ethical concerns related to fresh embryo donation.