Human Embryo Implantation Model in Lab Dish

Scientists based at The Rockefeller University have created an experimental system that models the implantation of a human embryo. The new system, an adaptation of one used to recapitulate the implantation of a mouse embryo, provides an attachment substrate, surrounds the blastocyst with just the right chemical environment, and provides scaffolding that accommodates the morphological movements that are particular to human embryos. For example, a human blastocyst undergoing implantation assumes a disk-like shape, whereas the mouse blastocyst is oblong.

The in vitro system has been used to show molecular and cellular processes in human development that occur up to day 14 after fertilization. The system, which has experimentally replicated implantation outside of the uterus for the first time, promises to expand scientists’ ability to answer basic questions about our own development, as well as to understand early pregnancy loss.

Details of the work appeared May 4 in the journal Nature, in an article entitled, “Self-Organization of theIn Vitro Attached Human Embryo.” The article paid particular attention to postimplantation development of the human embryo, a process that remains mysterious.

Read more: Human Embryo Implantation Model in Lab Dish

Source: genengnews

Sticky beads binding to sperm could offer a novel contraceptive

You ain't going nowhere.

We might have a brand new type of contraceptive on our hands, with scientists inventing sticky beads that can mimic female eggs in the uterus, and act as decoys to lure in sperm, bind to them, and block them from reaching the real thing.

The beads, which have so far only been tested in mice, do their thing thanks to a protein called ZP2, which exists on the zona pellucida – the surface of mammalian eggs. During conception, a sperm cell recognises a molecular fragment of ZP2 and binds to it, enabling the egg to be penetrated and fertilised. By mimicking this process with inert beads coated in the same protein, the sticky beads are effectively a honey pot to trap unwitting sperm.

In the study, a team from the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases embedded the sticky beads into the uterus of female mice.

Read more: Sticky beads binding to sperm could offer a novel contraceptive

Source: ScienceAlert

Key to making reversible, non-hormonal male contraceptives!

At last!

Scientists are getting closer to developing a new kind of reversible male contraceptive that doesn't produce any hormonal side effects.

While a commercial drug could still be some way off, the researchers have managed to isolate a key enzyme found only in sperm. Now that they've identified it and can manufacture this enzyme, the team hopes to target it with a range of drug candidates. With the right drug, it should be possible to decrease sperm motility – their ability to swim – which could prevent sperm from egg fertilisation.

"The milestone reached is the production and isolation of a full-length, active kinase enzyme in sufficient quantities to conduct drug screens," said researcher John Herr from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. "Isolation of an active, full-length form of this enzyme allows us to test drugs that bind to the entire surface of the enzyme so that we can identify inhibitors that may exert a selective action on sperm."

The enzyme in question – called testis-specific serine/threonine kinase 2 (TSSK2) – is unique to the testes, and also appears to only be involved in the final stage of sperm production. That's important, the researchers say, because it makes it more likely that any drug candidate that successfully targets the enzyme won't produce any side effects elsewhere in the body.

Read more: Key to making reversible, non-hormonal male contraceptives!

Source: cloudfront