25/10/2025
Functional eggs from human skin cells
The researchers characterized their technique as “mitomeiosis,” alluding to the combination of the two major known processes of cell division in biology.
Mitosis generates two genetically identical cells from a single cell, the basis of cell growth in any living organism. Meiosis is strictly related to the s***m and egg cell in sexual reproduction, enabling the necessary halving the number of chromosomes in each so that the combination — in this case, through in vitro fertilization — results in an embryo with the correct number of chromosomes. In humans, that’s 23 pairs of chromosomes totaling 46.
In this case, researchers combined the two processes.
The technique resulted in embryos with chromosomes contributed from both parents. The process involved three steps:
· Researchers transplant the nucleus of a skin cell into an egg, or oocyte, stripped of its own nucleus.
· Prompted by cytoplasm within the donor egg, the implanted skin cell nucleus ideally discards half of its chromosomes in a process similar to meiosis. This is the key step, resulting in a haploid egg with a single set of 23 chromosomes rather than 46.
· Researchers then fertilized the new egg with s***m through the standard process of IVF. This created a diploid embryo with two sets of chromosomes — which would ultimately result in healthy offspring with equal genetic contributions from both parents.
Researchers reported that they had produced 82 functional oocytes that were then fertilized with s***m through IVF.
Notably, most did not progress beyond the 4- to 8-cell stage and displayed chromosomal abnormalities.
A relatively small number — 9% — developed to the blastocyst stage of development six days after fertilization, when embryos are typically transferred to establish a pregnancy through IVF. None were cultured beyond that point.
https://sciencemission.com/eggs-from-human-skin
