Stem Cells Coaxed to Make Precursors to Egg, Sperm

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DAZ proteins may also represent potential drug targets for infertility research, Reijo Pera added.

For Anchan, the study represents an "incremental, but significant, advance."

"People have shown that you can get germ cells from embryonic stem cells," said Anchan. "What is unique in this study is they take it beyond the early stages of development." In other words, the research team pushed the cells to the point of actually generating gametes.

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The question remains, though, whether these cells are functional. In other words, can they actually fertilize an egg and develop into a viable organism?

"They haven't shown that these are functional gametes," Anchan said. "They look like gametes, but can they be fertilized?"

In 2004, Dr. George Daley, director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Children's Hospital Boston, generated gametes from embryonic stem cells in mice. He called the new study "a very interesting extension of our earlier work."

But Daley questioned the system's ability to really aid infertile couples, at least in the near term.

"The reality is, the system is a tool for basic studies at this point," Daley said. "Anything more is years, if not decades, away."

More information

For more information on infertility, visit the National Women's Health Information Center.

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