Fertility
Scientists turn human skin cells into eggs in IVF breakthrough
Researchers have created human eggs from skin cells, in a breakthrough that could transform IVF treatment for couples who have no other options.
The work remains at an early stage, but if scientists can refine the process it could allow women who are infertile due to age, illness or medical treatment to have genetically related eggs.
The same technique could also be used to make eggs for same-sex male couples.
Prof Shoukhrat Mitalipov, who led the research at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, said: “The largest group of patients who might benefit would be women of advanced maternal age.
“Another group are those who have been through chemotherapy because that can affect their ability to have viable eggs.”
While women are expected to be the primary beneficiaries, the skin cells used to make eggs need not come from potential mothers.
“We used female skin cells in this study, but you could use skin cells from males as well,” Mitalipov told the Guardian.
“You could make eggs for men, and that way, of course, this would be applicable to same-sex couples.”
The work draws on cloning techniques pioneered in the 1990s at the Roslin Institute in Scotland.
A team led by the late Ian Wilmut used somatic cell nuclear transfer – a process that moves genetic material between cells – to create Dolly the sheep.
The procedure involved removing the nucleus (the cell’s control centre containing genetic information) from an adult sheep cell and placing it into a sheep egg that had had its own nucleus removed.
The resulting embryo was carried to term in a surrogate mother.
The Oregon team took a similar approach by collecting skin cells from women and removing the nucleus from each.
The nucleus, which contains 46 chromosomes carrying around 20,000 genes that make up the human genetic code, was placed into healthy donor eggs that had had their own nuclei removed.
The main challenge for scientists was that healthy human eggs normally contain only 23 chromosomes.
Another 23 come from sperm during fertilisation, producing the full set of 46 required for development into an embryo and eventually a baby.
Writing in Nature Communications, the Oregon team described how they tackled the problem of excess chromosomes.
After fertilising the eggs with sperm, they activated them using a compound called roscovitine.
This caused the eggs to move roughly half of their chromosomes into a structure called a polar body – a small cell formed during egg development – leaving the remaining chromosomes to pair with those from the sperm.
In a healthy fertilised human egg, 23 chromosomes from the mother pair with 23 from the father.
However, the Oregon team found that in their lab-created eggs, the chromosomes paired up at random. This led to embryos with the wrong number of chromosomes or incorrect pairings.
“These abnormal chromosome complements would not be expected to result in a healthy baby,” said Prof Paula Amato, a co-author of the study at Oregon.
The team is now working to refine the process.
Of the 82 eggs created, fewer than 10 per cent developed to the stage at which embryos are typically transferred during IVF.
None were cultured beyond six days, suggesting the process remains inefficient.
Mitalipov described the work as a “proof of concept” with more challenges ahead. Perfecting the method and proving its safety in patients could take another decade.
“I think it’s going to be harder than what we’ve done over the years thus far, but it’s not impossible,” he said.
Other scientists praised the breakthrough.
Prof Richard Anderson of the University of Edinburgh said: “Many women are unable to have a family because they have lost their eggs, which can occur for a range of reasons including after cancer treatment.
“The ability to generate new eggs would be a major advance.
“There will be very important safety concerns, but this study is a step toward helping many women have their own genetic children.”
Onto Health has acquired Levy Health, a fertility software company providing precision diagnostics and patient intake for reproductive medicine.
The acquisition, fuelled by Onto Health’s US$20m Series A fundraise in April, supports its plan to build scalable, tech-enabled infrastructure for reproductive medicine.
Onto founder Roohi Jeelani, MD, called it the first of several moves in the company’s expansion strategy in a LinkedIn post, adding that there was “more coming soon”.
She said: “This isn’t just an acquisition, it’s proof of how we’re building Onto: physician-led, tech-enabled, and built to scale without losing the personal touch fertility patients deserve.”
Headquartered in Chicago, Onto Health combines evidence-based fertility care with artificial intelligence-driven diagnostics, clinical automation and longevity science.
AI-driven diagnostics use software to analyse patient information and support clinical decision-making, rather than replace clinicians.
Levy Health, founded in Berlin with US offices in San Francisco, helps medical providers identify endocrine disorders more quickly and helps clinics streamline fertility workups.
Endocrine disorders affect the body’s hormone system, which can influence ovulation, menstrual cycles and fertility.
Co-founder Caroline Mitterdorfer said joining Onto would expand Levy Health’s fertility care tools to more clinics and patients, helping physicians focus on patient care.
Onto opened its first clinic in Chicago in February, with plans for three more in the greater Chicago area.
The company said in April that it would use its new funding, led by Artis and Humania, to support additional operations in the US and expand into the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Gulf Cooperation Council includes six Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf.
Softening ageing ovaries could help women remain fertile for longer, early animal research suggests.
Fertility declines with age for several reasons, including poorer egg quality, fewer ovarian follicles and the gradual stiffening of ovarian tissue.
Existing fertility treatments, including hormone therapy and in vitro fertilisation, mainly address hormonal imbalances or help eggs mature or become fertilised.
Scientists are now examining whether changing the physical structure of the ovaries could provide another route for future fertility treatments.
Stuart A. Cook, of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Programme at Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, published an accompanying commentary on the research.
Researchers led by Shixuan Wang at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, collected healthy ovarian tissue from younger, middle-aged and older women.
They also examined samples from patients with polycystic ovary syndrome, known as PCOS, premature ovarian insufficiency, or POI, and endometriosis.
PCOS is a hormonal condition that can disrupt ovulation. POI occurs when the ovaries stop working normally before the age of 40, while endometriosis causes tissue similar to the womb lining to grow elsewhere in the body.
Tests of protein levels and gene activity found higher levels of the inflammatory protein interleukin-11, or IL-11, in ageing and diseased ovaries.
In laboratory experiments, the researchers exposed ovarian fibroblasts to IL-11. Fibroblasts are cells that produce connective tissue.
The protein caused the cells to produce excess collagen, a structural material that can build up during scarring and make tissue stiffer.
The researchers then genetically modified mice so they could not respond to IL-11. The animals developed less ovarian stiffening and maintained better ovarian function as they aged.
Similar results were seen in mouse models of PCOS and POI caused by chemotherapy.
In the final part of the experiment, older mice and rats were injected with a nanoparticle treatment containing small interfering RNA, or siRNA, designed to switch off IL-11.
The treatment made the animals’ ovaries less stiff and improved fertility.
Pregnancy rates among older mice rose from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, while average litter sizes also increased.
More rats treated with the therapy became pregnant and produced larger litters.
The approach remains highly speculative and will require considerably more research before its safety or effectiveness in women can be established.
However, the researchers said blocking the inflammatory pathway could eventually form the basis of new fertility treatments.
They said: “We propose that anti-IL-11 therapy represents a promising translational strategy for delaying ovarian ageing.”
W Group has opened applications for W Accelerate with Merck KGaA and M Ventures, inviting reproductive and maternal health startups, scaleups and spinouts to pitch for direct access to global pharma partnership and strategic investment.
Selected companies will pitch on 5th October, competing for the chance to accelerate their growth through commercial partnerships, investment, or both.
This is the third time Merck KGaA, a global leader in reproductive health, has partnered with W Group on the programme, which exists to close the innovation and investment gap in women’s health by connecting the sector’s most promising startups directly with the corporates and investors positioned to scale them.
What Merck KGaA and M Ventures are looking for
This year’s call is focused on breakthrough solutions in female infertility, fertility preservation, adenomyosis, endometriosis, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), ovarian insufficiency, preeclampsia and pregnancy comorbidities.
New for this round, applicants choose between three pathways depending on what they need from the programme:
- The Partnership Lane, for companies seeking commercial collaborations and strategic relationships
- The Investment Lane, for founders looking to connect with investors and secure funding to scale
- The Dual Lane, for innovators pursuing both partnership and investment opportunities
How the Accelerate event works
Selected companies get a 1:1 pitch practice session ahead of time, then a private 30-minute session with Merck KGaA and M Ventures leadership on the day itself, small-group sessions with regulatory and investment strategy experts, an “Ask Merck Anything” roundtable, and a VIP networking reception.
Key dates
- Open call launches: 8th July
- Open call closes: 2nd September
- Notification of successful companies: 11th September
- Pitch day: 5th October
Applications are open now at wplatform.typeform.com/to/KGzviBQM.
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