An Alternate Method for Creating Embryonic Stem Cells

Using parthenogenesis, a reproductive process in which a female egg can develop into an embryo without fertilization, WFIRM scientists and colleagues were successful in creating stem cells from rabbit eggs that were directed to differentiate into muscle, bone, fat, blood vessel cells and to form muscle- and boney-like tissue. Their findings demonstrate that parthenogenesis may offer an alternative to embryonic stem cells for tissue engineering.

Previous studies had described the isolation of embryonic stem cells from parthenogenesis, but this is the first to describe their adaptation for tissue engineering applications.

The parthenogenic process, which means “virgin birth,” occurs naturally in certain plants and insects. In the lab, scientists duplicated the process by using an electric current is used to stimulate an unfertilized egg to divide. After the dividing cell mass reached about 100 cells, the scientists surgically removed the inner cell mass and continued to expand the cell population in the lab.

Several important early embryonic stem cell markers were noted to be present in about 10 percent of these cells. These cells were able to double every 20 hours, a high enough self-renewal rate to be used for reconstructive applications.

Because parthenogentic embryos rarely survive beyond the embryo state, this method may avoid some of the political and ethical concerns that surround current human embryonic stem cell techniques. Embryonic stem cells are envisioned viable source of that can be used to tissue to replace damaged or diseased tissue, particularly in cases where donor tissues is unavailable.

(Parthenogenesis-derived multipotent stem cells adapted for tissue engineering applications. Koh CJ, Delo DM, Lee JW, Siddiqui MM, Lanza RP, Soker S, Yoo JJ, Atala A. Methods. 2009 Feb;47(2):90-7. Epub 2008 Sep 15.)