Latest news with #DexeusUniversityHospital
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Watch: 'Astonishing' video shows human embryo implanting in real time
Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A team of Spanish researchers announced Friday they have for the first time recorded video of a human embryo implanting itself in a simulated uterine wall, revealing never-before-seen details of how 5-day-old embryos carry out the mysterious process. Using advanced microscopy techniques allowing the scientists to record the human embryo in full color and 3D, the "astonishing" videos provide the first-ever, real-time glimpse of the implantation process and have provided key insights into how it actually works, they said. Researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia and Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, said the videos reveal for the first time that embryos exert "considerable force" and employ digging traction as they "invade" the uterine tissue, becoming completely integrated with it. The findings, published in journal Science Advances, found crucial differences between how mouse and human embryos move in connecting to the uterus wall, the authors said. An "ex vivo" platform they developed using an artificial uterine matrix made of gel and collagen which allows for implantation outside of a human uterus made the videos possible. The system could have a "significant impact" on efforts to counter infertility and help those who are unable to conceive naturally, they predicted. Failure of the implantation process is the main reason behind the relatively low effectiveness of assisted reproductive technologies, such as in-vitro fertilization, in which embryos are conceived in a lab and then transferred to the womb. Implantation occurs in only 25% to 30% of transferred embryos -- whether conceived in vivo or in-vitro -- with embryo quality cited as the most significant feature affecting implantation. "We've opened a window into a stage of development that was previously hidden," the co-authors said in a statement to UPI. "After Day 5, when an embryo has 100 to 200 cells, it must implant, but until now, doctors couldn't observe it again until an ultrasound weeks later. "With our system, we can test culture conditions or compounds that might improve implantation." For example, the scientists say they have already developed a protein supplement that can be used in clinics to enhance implantation rates, available through their spin-off company Serabiotics and in collaboration with the Spanish pharmaceutical major Grifols. "In short, this is a new tool for extending embryo observation and optimizing conditions for success," they said. The videos show a donated human embryo powerfully pulling on the uterine matrix and reshaping it as it goes, illustrating the importance of "optimal matrix displacement." Lead author Samuel Ojosnegros, principal investigator of IBEC's Bioengineering for Reproductive Health Group, said the initial real-time look at a human embryo implanting itself was a profound experience for him. "We had some experience making time-lapse movies of mouse embryos, but the first time we saw a human embryo implanting was truly astonishing," he said. "Everything was different, the size, the shape, the behavior. They were stronger, more forceful, digging a hole into the matrix in a remarkably invasive way. Every detail felt unique. "Watching it alive, in action, for the first time was absolutely mind-blowing." Embryo implantation is the "holy grail" of reproduction -- and unlike in the animal world, in humans it can be a problematic process, resulting in about 1 in 6 people around the world having trouble making a baby, noted Dr. Mark Trolice, a professor at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and founder/director of The IVF Center, a full-service reproductive medicine clinic in Orlando. "Even though scientists have studied this for many years, they still do not fully understand how implantation works or what makes the uterus ready for an embryo," he told UPI. "One big mystery is why a woman's body can grow a baby made from sperm -- which is a 'foreign' tissue -- without rejecting it, as well as the ability to carry a donated egg." The new study, he said, "gives researchers a closer look at implantation. They used an ex vivo model, which means they studied the process outside the body. This let them watch how embryos interact with the uterine lining (called the endometrium) and measure the tiny pulling and pushing forces from both mouse embryos and donated human embryos." The videos showed for the first time that each species makes its own unique pattern of forces during implantation. Trolice noted that while there are "some limits" to the Spanish study, "this work could lead to new ways of adjusting the uterine environment, which might help more embryos successfully implant. "Before any treatment can be used, scientists will need to do human clinical trials. There are also important ethical and legal rules about using human tissues and embryos, which researchers must follow," he added. Solve the daily Crossword
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Health
- Gizmodo
In a First, Scientists Capture Human Embryo Implantation in Real Time
A team of scientists has just gotten a closer peek into one of the earliest and most fundamental steps of creating a human life. Research out today highlights how they captured—for the first time—footage of human embryo implantation right as it's happening. Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), in collaboration with Dexeus University Hospital, detailed their work in a study published Friday in Science Advances. Among other things, the footage shows that human embryos use force to burrow deep into the uterus for implantation. The new method may allow scientists to better understand why embryos so often fail to implant, and someday improve fertility treatment, the researchers say. 'The reason that we want to start studying implantation is because implantation is the main roadblock in human reproduction,' study author Samuel Ojosnegros, lead researcher of IBEC's Bioengineering for Reproductive Health group, told Gizmodo. 'But we know very little about it and we know very little because it happens inside the mother.' New Human-Like Synthetic Embryos Could Uncover Cause of Miscarriages, Scientists Say Scientists have certainly learned a lot over time about how the human embryo develops. But there have been limitations to this research, Ojosnegros notes. We've only been able to study the first few days of the human embryo in real time, prior to implantation. After that, most research looks at snapshots of embryo development, usually taken of other non-human animals. These animal models are an important tool, but they can only tell us so much about how humans develop in the womb. Implantation is the first step of gestation, and it's only after an embryo embeds into the uterus that a pregnancy is considered to have actually begun. The team, additionally led by scientists Amélie Godeau and Anna Seriola, created a material that could mimic the outer uterine tissue that an embryo attaches to for implantation. This gel-like matrix is mostly made out of collagen but is also infused with other proteins important to embryo development. With their creation in hand, they were now able to microscopically record how the human embryo implants itself. They also studied mouse embryos for comparison and noticed some important differences. 'The mouse embryo, if you put it on the matrix, stays superficially, spreads out, but will not invade. It will mainly spread out superficially. While the human, if you put it on the surface, it will dig a hole, penetrate, and it will sort of bury itself inside and then start growing,' Ojosnegros explained. 'So then the human embryo is stronger, it's bigger, and it's way more invasive.' There are many more mysteries left to be solved about the process of implantation, including the exact mechanisms that the embryo uses to so aggressively invade the uterus. But the lessons that Ojosnegros and other scientists can learn from this work could help families in the future. The researchers note that only about 30% of embryos (whether from natural birth or in vitro fertilization) make it all the way to being born, and of those that don't, most are lost during implantation or immediately after. So simply being able to see how the process unfolds could provide vital clues on how to prevent miscarriages or otherwise improve fertility. Simple Drug Combo Could Prevent Repeat Miscarriages, Study Suggests The researchers plan to continue to study the ins and outs of embryo implantation, but they're also hoping to standardize the materials used for this research so that others can conduct their own similar experiments. Ojosnegros also wants to highlight the contributions of the Dexeus University Hospital and the patients whose donated embryos made this work possible in the first place. 'I think it's good to recognize that without the generosity of the patients who donated the embryos for research, we could not study our own species,' he said.
