Abstract
During in vitro fertilization, embryos deemed clinically useless based on poor morphology are typically discarded. Here we demonstrate a statistical correlation between the developmental stage of such poor-quality embryos and the yield of human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines. Early-arrested or highly fragmented embryos only rarely yield cell lines, whereas those that have achieved blastocyst stage are a robust source of normal hES cells.
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Acknowledgements
This work was made possible through the generosity and vision of Joshua and Anita Bekenstein, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Children's Hospital Boston. G.Q.D. is a recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research. T.A.I. was supported by grants from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
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P.H.L., A.Y., project planning, experimental work, preparation of manuscript; H.H., A.T., J.S., experimental work; T.C., research coordinator at clinical site; T.A.I., interpretation of teratoma pathology; E.G., C.R., G.Q.D., project planning, preparation of manuscript.
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Supplementary Figures 1–14, Tables 1–2, Methods (PDF 3357 kb)
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Lerou, P., Yabuuchi, A., Huo, H. et al. Human embryonic stem cell derivation from poor-quality embryos. Nat Biotechnol 26, 212–214 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1378
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1378