Research groups such as Kyoto University have announced that they have succeeded in culturing human fetal cells and creating `` primordial follicles '' that are the source of eggs.
The group believes that it may lead to the elucidation of the mechanism of egg formation and research into the treatment of infertility.
A group led by Professor Michinori Saito of the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study extracted germ cells from the ovaries of aborted human fetuses and cultured them in a test tube containing a special culture medium.
After culturing for about 14 weeks, they succeeded in transforming them into cells called primordial follicles.
A primordial follicle is a cell in the stage before it becomes an egg, and the research group believes that the result is closer to the realization of technology to create human eggs.
The group aims to apply the results of this study to create primordial follicles from iPS cells, as well as to elucidate the mechanism of oocyte formation.
Prof. Saito said, "If iPS cells can be used to create the cells that form the basis of eggs, it may lead to research into the treatment of infertility in the future. Research on human reproductive cells will be based on the results of this study." I want to go further," he said.