Human embryonic stem cell derivation from poor-quality embryos.

Lerou, Paul H; Yabuuchi, Akiko; Huo, Hongguang; Takeuchi, Ayumu; Shea, Jessica; Cimini, Tina; Ince, Tan A; Ginsburg, Elizabeth et al. · Nat Biotechnol · 2008

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

During in vitro fertilization, embryos deemed clinically useless based on poor morphology are typically discarded. Here we demonstrate a statistical correlation between the developmental stage of such poor-quality embryos and the yield of human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines. Early-arrested or highly fragmented embryos only rarely yield cell lines, whereas those that have achieved blastocyst stage are a robust source of normal hES cells.

Medical subject headings