Overview

• OHSU researchers used somatic cell nuclear transfer and a new chromosome-reduction step called mitomeiosis to convert human skin-cell DNA into egg-like cells.
• The team produced 82 oocytes and fertilized them with donor sperm, with roughly 9% developing to the blastocyst stage by day six before culture was stopped.
• Every embryo carried chromosomal errors from random chromosome segregation and lack of normal meiotic crossover, so none would be expected to yield a viable pregnancy.
• The study, published in Nature Communications, is presented as a proof of concept that will require major technical refinements, safety validation and regulatory review.
• If future hurdles are overcome, the approach could one day aid older women, patients who lost eggs to illness or treatment, and potentially same-sex couples.