Skin cells could be used to create functional eggs: Scientists discover new method to treat infertility

Scientists have used human skin cells to create fertilizable eggs capable of producing early embryos, an advance that could expand possibilities for fertility treatment, according to new research, CNN writes.

The proof-of-concept study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, involved taking the nucleus, the part of the cell that contains most of its genetic information, from an ordinary human skin cell and transplanting it into a donor egg stripped of its own nucleus. The researchers produced 82 functional human oocytes, or immature egg cells, which then underwent fertilization in the lab.

It will be at least a decade before the technique would be clinically available, according to Dr. Paula Amato, a coauthor of the study and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

“This would allow older women, or women without eggs for any reason (e.g. previous cancer treatment) to have a genetically related child,” Amato said.