Potential of human twin embryos generated by embryo splitting in assisted reproduction and research

We present here an overview of embryo splitting experiments in humans and non-human primates and discuss the potential of this technology in assisted reproduction and research.<div class="boxTitle">SEARCH METHODS</div>A comprehensive literature search was carried out using PUBMED and Google Scholar databases to identify studies on embryo splitting in humans and non-human primates. ‘Embryo splitting’ and ‘embryo twinning’ were used as the keywords, alone or in combination with other search phrases relevant to the topics of biology of preimplantation embryos.<div class="boxTitle">OUTCOMES</div>A very limited number of studies have been conducted in humans and non-human primates. The published material, especially the studies with human embryos, is controversial. Some reports suggest that twinning technology will find clinical use in reproductive medicine in the future, whereas others conclude the opposite that human twin embryos created <span style="font-style:italic;">in vitro</span> are unsuitable not only for clinical, but also for research, purposes.<div class="boxTitle">WIDER IMPLICATIONS</div>The blastomere biopsy technique of embryo splitting seems to be unsuitable for either clinical or research purposes; however, embryo bisection, a preferable method of cloning in veterinary medicine, has not yet been tested on human embryos.</span>
Source: Human Reproduction Update - Category: OBGYN Source Type: research