Can babies be born without a womb? Scientists make human eggs in lab

Every day, science is finding new frontiers which it can cross.

Researchers have now managed to create human eggs from skin cells. The development could help millions of people around the world who are unable to have children – those suffering from infertility for example, or same-sex couples – to produce genetic heirs.

Experts say the procedure would take at least another decade of experimentation before it could be used, and there are ethical and legal questions to consider.

But what do we know about this process? How does it work? Why is this a big deal?

Let’s take a closer look

What we know

The study was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. It was conducted by the Oregon Health and Science University and led by the institute’s director Shoukhrat Mitalipov.

The process works by taking the nucleus – which contains most of our genetic code – from an average human skin cell and implanting it into a donor egg which has been stripped of its own genetic code. However, researchers had to deal with the fact that the egg has chromosomes. Human beings have 46 chromosomes – 23 from each parent.

They did so by essentially programming the egg to lose half its chromosomes – a process known as ‘mitomeiosis’ (a combination of mitosis and meiosis, that is the way cells divide). This process resulted in 82 eggs – known as functional human oocytes, or immature egg cells – being produced. These eggs were then fertilised in the lab with human sperm and went into the early stages of development.

This is the same procedure used to create Dolly the Sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, in 1996. But much work remains to be done.
Researchers said very few of the eggs, around 9 per cent, made it to day five or six of development. This is known as the blastocyst stage, wherein the egg would be implanted into a woman’s womb via in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

Researchers also said none of the eggs would actually be suitable for IVF treatment. This is because the eggs randomly picked which chromosomes to discard – leaving them genetically abnormal. The egg usually needs to pick one of each of the 23 types of chromosomes to stop diseases developing. However, the eggs would usually choose two of certain chromosomes and none of others. The chromosomes also skipped an important process known as crossing over – in which they reconfigure their DNA.

Researchers said healthy babies would not be born from such embryos. I n fact, they would likely all stop developing before the embryo becomes a baby.

Why this is a big deal

“We achieved something that was thought to be impossible,” Professor Shoukhrat told the BBC.

Because if this process is perfected, babies could be born without a biological mother ever needing to be involved . Millions of women all over the world who cannot conceive for any reason could become mothers. The resulting babies would also be genetically-related to both partners.
As Dr Paula Amato, a professor in obstetrics and gynaecology at Oregon Health and Science University and co-author of the study, told The Telegraph, “In theory, the technique could result in a limitless number of eggs.”

“The skin cell DNA however can come from anyone, even if they personally don’t have any eggs or remaining eggs – older women, women after cancer treatment, people born without eggs, men… So, it’s a way to produce eggs genetically identical to the person providing the skin cell, even if they personally don’t have any eggs, and allows them to reproduce to have a genetically-related child.”

“A same-sex male couple could potentially have a child genetically related to both partners.”

Still, researchers say much work needs to be done.

“We have to perfect it,” Shoukhrat told the BBC. “Eventually, I think that’s where the future will go because there are more and more patients that cannot have children.”

Other scientists agree that this is a massive development.

“I think it’s a very significant step in terms of moving forward to the ability to use skin cells to make egg cells for human reproduction at some point in the future, once we can prove this is safe and effective,” Dr Sigal Klipstein, a reproductive endocrinologist with the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, told NPR. “The proof of concept is fascinating.”

Roger Sturmey, a professor of reproductive medicine at the University of Hull, told the BBC the research is “important” and “impressive”.
“At the same time, such research reinforces the importance of continued open dialogue with the public about new advances in reproductive research. Breakthroughs such as this impress upon us the need for robust governance, to ensure accountability and build public trust.”

Professor Richard Anderson, deputy director of the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, added the ability to create fresh eggs “would be a major advance”.

“There will be very important safety concerns but this study is a step towards helping many women have their own genetic children,” Anderson said.

Doubts linger

However, some were less effusive.

“It is unclear whether skipping meiosis in half the genome is compatible with human development,” Amander Clark, professor of molecular and developmental biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, told NPR. “Time and more fundamental research will tell.”

Experts also say legal, ethical and moral issues abound.

They say in the future, people could attempt to engineer ‘designer babies’. They also worry that people could steal the skin cells of others – a crush, an ex-partner, co-worker or celebrity – and use that to make a baby without their knowledge. People, particularly the super-rich, could also attempt to create babies containing only their own genetic material.

We appear to be living in a brave new world. It remains to be seen what scientific boundaries are crossed next.

With inputs from agencies