First mock monkey embryos may shine light on human pregnancy

To probe the mysterious early stages of development, researchers have concocted a variety of embryo stand-ins from mouse or human stem cells. Now, scientists in China have created the first monkey versions. These pseudoembryos should more closely reflect human development than their mouse equivalents. And unlike human embryo mimics, they can be inserted into females to help scientists better understand the beginnings of pregnancy—and why it often fails. “The findings are a milestone in the field of stem cell–derived embryo models,” says stem cell biologist Alejandro De Los Angeles of the University of Oxford, who wasn’t connected to the study. Starting with stem cells obtained from embryos or from adult cells transformed into an embryonic-like state, several groups of researchers have grown structures that resemble the blastocyst , the ball of cells that in humans takes shape about 5 days after fertilization and implants in the uterus. Termed blastoids, these imitation embryos can survive for several days in culture and develop many features of the real things. Scientists have even inserted mouse blastoids into mother rodents and shown that they induce some of the changes of pregnancy, although they don’t continue to develop. But mouse blastoids can only reveal so much about human development, and it would be unethical to implant human blastoids into people. Monkey blastoids promise to be better models, but the right recipe for culturin...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news