Thai researchers have demonstrated that embryonic stem cells derived
from frozen embryos have a similar ability to differentiate into multiple cell
types as do those derived from fresh embryos.
Thai researchers have shown that
even after being frozen for 18 years, human embryos can be thawed, grown in the
laboratory, and induced successfully to produce human embryonic stem (ES)
cells.
From an article recently
published in BioResearch Open Access, Kamthorn Pruksananonda and coauthors from
Chulalongkorn University and Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand
successfully derived human ES cell lines from blastocysts developed from frozen
and fresh embryos.
17- to 18-year-old frozen embryos
were thawed, cultured to the blastocyst stage, and induced to form hES cells
using human foreskin fibroblasts.
The cell lines derived expressed
pluripotent markers, including alkaline phosphatase (AP), Oct3/4, stage-specific
embryonic antigen (SSEA)-4, and tumor recognition antigen (TRA)-1-60, and
TRA-1-81 as detected with immunocytochemistry.
Real-time polymerase chain
reaction (RT-PCR) results showed that the cell lines expressed pluripotent
genes, including OCT3/4, SOX2, NANOG, UTF, LIN28, REX1, NODAL, and E-Cadherin.
In addition, the telomerase activities of the cell lines were higher than that
of the fibroblast cells.
Futhermore, the cell lines
differentiated into all three germ layers both in vitro and in vivo. The cell
lines had distinct identities, as revealed with DNA fingerprinting, and
maintained their normal karyotype after long-term culture.
Morphology of the blastocysts developed from long-term
cryopreserved embryos
(Source: Chulalongkorn University/Mary Ann Liebert,
Inc).
This study is the first to report
the successful derivation of human ES cell lines in Thailand from frozen
embryos. The ES cells maintained their pluripotency similar to fresh embryos,
as shown by the success of hES cell derivation even after years of
cryopreservation. Therefore, embryos from prolonged cryopreservation could be
an alternative source of embryonic stem cells for drug screening and medical
research.
“The importance of this study is
that it identifies an alternative source for generating new embryonic stem
lines, using embryos that have been in long-term storage,” said Editor-in-Chief
Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Center for Regenerative Medicine, University of
Edinburgh, Scotland.
The article can be found at: Pruksananonda
et al. (2012) Eighteen-Year Cryopreservation Does Not Negatively Affect the
Pluripotency of Human Embryos: Evidence from Embryonic Stem Cell Derivation.
——
Source: Mary
Ann Liebert, Inc
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