British scientists in Newcastle claim they’ve achieved another milestone in biomedical research – creating a human sperm in the lab for the very first time.

How human sperm is created.

Using stem cells from a human embryo, they simulated the crucial process of meiosis, a type of cell division that splits the number of chromosomes into half. The whole process took about 4 to 6 weeks. The sperm produced were said to be mature and mobile.

This feat has been done before using mouse stem cells but this is the first time that it has been demonstrated to be possible using human stem cells. Gametes (eggs and sperm) are different from other cells in the body because they only have half the number of chromosomes. The chromosomal number is completed only during fertilization, when the egg and the sperm merge and contribute 50-50 to the genetic material. Simulating the process of meiosis is very critical and tedious, which is why nobody has done it until now.

How can this technology be used?

• Understanding (in)fertility in men. In simulating the formation of sperm, scientists can have more insight as to why some men are fertile and some are not.

• Understanding how sperm are affected by environmental factors. Certain chemicals and toxins, including chemotherapy drugs can cause permanent infertility. Scientists think they could help find a solution to reverse this problem.

• Understanding how genetic defects are passed on from father to child. In knowing the sperm is formed and developed, scientists might be able someday to manipulate the process and sort out the good genes from the bad.

The researchers stressed that this has nothing to do with procreation and they have no intention of using the lab-made sperm in fertilizing an egg, a procedure which is illegal in the UK. Expectedly, the announcement created a furor not only in the scientific community but among pro-life and religious groups.

Arguments against laboratory made sperm:

• The human embryos in stem cell research has always been steeped in controversy and considered ethically and politically incorrect. Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics (Corethics) does not see the point of destroying a perfectly viable human embryo to produce experimental sperm.

• Cost-efficiency. From a more practical perspective, one may ask, is it really worth it? While there is a shortage of egg cells available for stem cell research, there is more than ample supply of sperm. Is it really worth the time and the money to create something in the lab that is easily available in nature? Or is it simply about proving that it can be done?

So what do you think? Is this an exciting scientific discovery or is it another one of those scientific dead-ends?

Stem cells and stem cell research have always been steeped in controversy mainly because the earliest source of stem cells discovered was the human embryo. This led to strong resistance against stem cell research based on ethical, moral, and religious grounds. Over the years, new, less controversial sources of stem cells have been identified, including:

• bone marrow
• umbilical cord
• skin
• breast milk
• fat tissue
• menstrual blood

Recently, Brazilian researchers have reported about another potential – and “politically correct” – source of stem cells – discarded Fallopian tubes.

The Fallopian tubes are the tubes that “catch” the eggs from the ovaries, to be transported to the uterus. Sometimes the tubes have to be removed surgically, an intervention called salpingectomy. In many cases, it is performed in connection with oophorectomy (removal of the ovary) and/or hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) in women with cervical or breast cancer. The researchers found abundant immature cells in Fallopian tubes during surgery, cells which can potentially develop into bones, muscles, and other organs.

Stem cell research is cutting edge technology in the quest for curing many diseases, from cancer, to cardiovascular disorders, to neurodegenerative diseases. Identifying more “ethical” sources of stem cells can give this field of research a boost and hopefully produce results. Currently, a few stem cell-based therapies are undergoing clinical trials.

If you donate your eggs to scientific research, you can’t receive any compensation. However, if you donate your eggs to fertility clinics, you can get thousands of dollars. This is according to laws of certain states in the US based on guidelines set by US National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The non-compensation guideline is aimed to protect poor women from being exploited by researchers.

However, this law is restricting the progress of stem cell research, complain American researchers and they are asking that the law be changed.

Researchers need human egg cells in therapeutic cloning, one of most promising field of stem cell medical research. In therapeutic cloning, the nucleus (the part containing most of the DNA) of an egg cell is removed. The nucleus of an adult human cell is then inserted into the empty “egg shell” and from this new cell, stem cells can be produced. Scientists use this technique to study diseases by producing “diseased stem cells.”

However, in recent years, less and less women donate their eggs to science and go for the more profitable option – fertility clinics. You’d see advertisements everywhere that would go like this: “Pay your way through college by becoming an egg donor.” or “Need money? We will pay for your eggs.”

Being an egg donor is not easy. The procedure takes time (screening, consultation, clinic visits) and it can be painful (hormonal injection, and surgical removal of egg cells). It is no wonder that not many women are willing to do it for free.

The law, however, varies from state to state. Although some states are less stringent, in Massachusetts and California which are home to leading US stem-cell research institutes, compensation is out of the question. Researchers at Harvard University’s Stem Cell Institute spent US$100,000 on advertising campaigns for two years before they could get a single egg donor, according to Nature News. With such an amount, a fertility clinic can secure several donors.

This law is not unique to the US. In European countries, non-compensation is also the rule rather than the exception. In the UK, some universities have found some sort of middle ground. Couples in need of fertility treatments can have discounted prices in university clinics if they “share” some of their eggs to science during the fertility treatment procedure.

Source:

Nature News 11 June 2008 | Nature 453, 828-829 (2008)

Stem cell research used to be one of the most controversial fields in science because of the practice of using human embryos as source of stem cells. Since then, stem cells have been found in different organs of the body from the umbilical cord, from the bone marrow, even from the skin. Lately, stem cells were also found in the most unexpected places.

Stem cells in menstrual blood

For us women, it`s a monthly inconvenience we have to put up with. For scientists, it`s an exciting new development in the field of stem cells research. I`m referring to menstrual blood stromal cells (MenSCs) which are shed during our monthly period. These cells exhibit a great capacity of self-renewal and multipotency.

Stem cells in breast milk

We already know that breast milk is best for babies. Its nutritional qualities can never be matched by any infant formula since it also provides antibodies that give babies automatic immunity to diseases that their mothers are immune to. What we don’t know, however, is that breast milk may also be a key to treating illnesses like diabetes, spinal injuries and Parkinson’s disease. The latest research lead by Dr Cregan, a molecular biologist at The University of Western Australia, discovered that breast milk contains ‘nestin’ which physically resembles stem cells. This ‘nestin’ from breast milk has a potential of developing into special cells that may form into many types of human tissues.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells normally from embryos that can develop into cells with special functions. Many scientists believe that stem cells can be used to repair damage cells and can be used for treating cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease and even paralysis. If nestin and MenSCs indeed behave like stem cells, then, we women are the veritable gold mines of ‘unlimited, noncontroversial, easily collectable, and inexpensive‘ stem cells for medical research. The controversy on the ethics of harvesting of cells from embryos would then be a thing of the past.

Sources:

Eureka Alert, 23 April 2008

Science Alert, 10 February 2008

Have you ever wondered what happens when cord blood is banked? What happens if your child needs it later in life due to an illness or other disability? So many steps are being made to advance the research and amazing uses of cord blood stem cells today. It is easy to dismiss the idea of using stem cells as new, radical, and perhaps not something likely to happen soon because of the way it is often portrayed as new and in the experimental stage.

Some parents are stepping up to bank the blood of their newborns and have been for a few years now. Some have chosen private banking, while others have chosen to use public banks. Thanks to banking the blood of their newborn, one couple in Sacramento, California have seen dramatic improvement in their son’s condition. The two year old had been diagnosed with cerebal palsy shortly after birth, but thanks to being injected with his own stem cells, he is showing fewer signs of the disorder. His parents are praising the preservation of his cord blood and the injection of the stem cells.

According to his parents, Dallas had not spoken previously, nor laughed. His father expressed great joy at finally being able to hear the laughter of his son. Thanks to the accidental discovery of Cord
Blood Registry, the world’s largest family cord blood stem cell bank. The couple decided to spend the money to cover the cost of processing and storage, since this may have been their only chance to have a child due to conception difficulties.

Last July, the couple decided to allow doctors at Duke University to infuse Dallas’ own stem cells back into his system in an experimental approach to helping his disorder. According to the family, within 5 days Dallas was a new child, clapping, laughing, and reacting as never before.

For more information on Dallas and his recovery, visit MSNBC and The Early Show Video.