Research on early human embryos from in-vitro fertilization (IVF): the Warnock recommendations

1985 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne McLaren
Keyword(s):  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Early Human

scholarly journals Le cellule staminali: dall’applicazione clinica al parere etico. Parte III. Riflessioni etiche

2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Suaudeau
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Umbilical Cord Blood ◽  
Es Cells ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Gene Activation ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Early Human

Un’ampia polemica si è sviluppata attorno alle cellule staminali: alcuni rivendicano una totale libertà di reperire le cellule staminali embrionali umane (hES) dagli embrioni provenienti dalla fecondazione in vitro o dal trasferimento nucleare (clonazione terapeutica), altri insistono sull’impiego di cellule staminali somatiche e di cellule del sangue del cordone ombelicale (UCB). Il fulcro di questa polemica è etica: infatti, il reperimento del primo tipo di cellule, in quanto richiede il sacrificio programmato di embrioni umani, solleva, a differenza del secondo tipo, questioni etiche. Molti tra coloro che reputano la ricerca sulle cellule hES eticamente accettabile ritengono che gli embrioni umani, prima dell’impianto uterino, non possono essere considerati ancora organismi individuali. Essi fondano la loro tesi su due considerazioni: l’elevata percentuale di perdita naturale di embrioni precoci e il verificarsi della gemellarità monozigotica. Recenti studi hanno, tuttavia, messo in crisi simile tesi, mostrando che l’embrione dei mammiferi funziona come unità biologica sia a livello citologico (gap junctions, tight junctions, compaction) sia a livello genetico (zigotic gene activation). Altri si dichiarano a favore della ricerca sulle cellule ES, giustificandola con la seguente argomentazione: un “essere” umano non può essere riconosciuto come tale dal punto di vista antropologico, finché non abbia raggiunto un elevato grado di “umanizzazione”. Tuttavia, l’errore di simile “prospettiva dello sviluppo” proviene dalla mancanza di un’attenta riflessione sul piano ontologico. Altri, pur riconoscendo che l’embrione umano, in quanto persona potenziale, merita grande rispetto, giustificano la distruzione di embrioni umani per reperire le cellule ES, ricorrendo all’argomento del “fine buono”. In questo caso, il principio morale intangibile che deve essere applicato è quello per il quale il fine non giustifica i mezzi. Ne deriva che la distruzione di embrioni umani per ottenere cellule ES è una eliminazione diretta e deliberata di un essere umano innocente, non giustificabile attraverso alcun argomento. Va, infine, posto il seguente quesito: è lecito usare linee di hES fornite da altri ricercatori o disponibili sul mercato? Tuttavia, una simile utilizzazione rientra nella categoria della cooperazione moralmente illecita ad atti ingiusti, sia in termini di cooperazione materiale immediata sia in termini di cooperazione formale. D’altra parte, la proposta di reperire linee di cellule ES da un singolo blastomero, ottenuto attraverso la biopsia di un embrione, sarebbe, senza dubbio, più rispettosa della vita umana nascente, ma comporterebbe altri problemi etici: essa, infatti, implicherebbe il ricorso alla fecondazione in vitro ed esporrebbe l’embrione a un rischio non indifferente. Quanto poi alla “riprogrammazione” di cellule somatiche a livello di cellule ES, pur essendo eticamente lecita, resta, allo stato corrente, un’ipotesi teorica. Il realismo pratico ed il rispetto della vita umana nascente ci spingono, dunque, a considerare come primaria la ricerca sulle cellule staminali adulte e sulle cellule del sangue del cordone ombelicale, che, nel campo della medicina rigenerativa, ha già dato risultati incoraggianti. ---------- A wide polemic has developed around stem cells: some claim a full freedom for deriving human embryonic stem cells (hES) from embryos coming from in vitro fertilization or from nuclear transfer (therapeutic cloning), others insist on the interest of somatic stem cells or stem cells from umbilical cord blood (UCB). The core of this polemic is ethical: in fact, getting the first type of cells, because of it needs the programmed sacrifice of human embryos, raise, unlike the second type, ethical questions. Many among those who think hES research as ethically acceptable consider that human embryos before implantation cannot be considered as individual organisms. They support their opinion on two considerations: the elevated percentage of natural loss of early embryos and the occurrence of monozygotic twinning. But, recent studies have removed a lot of their substance from these arguments, showing in particular that the mammalian embryo works as a biological unity at the cytological level (gap junctions, tight junctions, compaction) as well as at the genetic level (zigotic gene activation). Others pronounced themselves in favor of hES research, with the argument that a biological human “being” cannot be recognized as such from an anthropological standpoint until he has reached a consistent level of “humanization”. But, the error of this “developmental perspective” comes from its ignorance of a careful ontological reflection. Others, although they do recognize that the human embryo, as a possible person, deserves great respect, justify the destruction of human embryos human to get ES cells with the argument of the “good end”. In this case, the intangible moral principle that must be applied is that the goal doesn’t justify the means. It follows that the destruction of human embryos to get hES cells is a direct and deliberate elimination of an innocent human being that no argument can justify. Another question is: is it permissible to use hES cell lines from other researchers or available on the market? But, this use enters into the category of the illegitimate cooperation in evil, both in terms of immediate material cooperation, and in terms of formal cooperation. On the other hand, the proposal to derive hES cell lines from a single blastomere separated mechanically from an embryo while leaving alive this embryo would be more respectful of early human life, but brings in other ethical problems: it implicates the practice of in vitro fertilization in vitro, and exposes the embryo to a substantial risk. Regarding the “reprogramming” of somatic cells to the level of ES cells, although it is ethically permissible, is now more a theoretical hypothesis. Practical realism and respect of early human life invite therefore to give prime attention to research on adult stem cells and on stem cells from umbilical cord blood, that, in the field of the regenerative medicine, have given encouraging results.

Coculture of human embryos with buffalo rat liver cells for women with decreased prognosis in in vitro fertilization

1997 ◽  
Vol 177 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunxia Hu ◽  
Wayne S. Maxson ◽  
David I. Hoffman ◽  
Susan Eager ◽  
Julie Dupre
Keyword(s):  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Rat Liver ◽  
Liver Cells ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Rat Liver Cells

scholarly journals MicroRNA Expression Profiles Analysis in Sperm Reveals hsa-mir-191 is an Auspicious Omen of in Vitro Fertilization

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Xu ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Zhikai Wang ◽  
Jianhui Li ◽  
Zhiming Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Roc Curve ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Early Human

Abstract Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding small RNAs that play important roles in many physiological processes by regulating gene expression. Previous studies have shown that the expression levels of total miRNAs increase during mouse embryonic development, and some miRNAs control the regulatory network in development progression. However, few studies have focused on the effects of miRNAs on early human embryonic development. The relationship between miRNAs and early human embryogenesis is still unknown. Results:In this study, RNA-seq data collected from sperm samples from 102 patients with a normal sperm index but treated with assisted reproductive technology (ART) were analyzed for the relationships between differentially expressed small RNAs and the fertilization rate (FR), blastocyst rate and high-quality embryo rate (HQER). The sperm samples with high hsa-mir-191 expression had a higher FR, effective embryo rate (EER) and HQER. hsa-mir-191 was used as a single indicator to predict the HQER. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.686. We also found that hsa-mir-191 expression is correlated with an abnormal sperm rate (cor = 0.29, p< 0.01). We also evaluated the relationship between hsa-mir-34c and early human embryo development in these 102 sperm samples and obtained negative results. Conclusions: These findings suggest that high hsa-mir-191-5p expression in sperm is associated with early human embryonic quality and that hsa-mir-191-5p could be used as a potential marker to screen high-quality sperm to improve the success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

scholarly journals MicroRNA Expression Profiles Analysis in Sperm Reveals hsa-mir-191 is an Auspicious Omen of in Vitro Fertilization

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Xu ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Zhikai Wang ◽  
Jianhui Li ◽  
Zhiming Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Roc Curve ◽  
Small Rnas ◽  
Small Rna Sequencing ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Early Human

Abstract Background : MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding small RNAs that play important roles in many physiological processes by regulating gene expression. Previous studies have shown that the expression levels of total miRNAs increase during mouse embryonic development, and some miRNAs control the regulatory network in development progression. However, few studies have focused on the effects of miRNAs on early human embryonic development. The relationship between miRNAs and early human embryogenesis is still unknown. Results: In this study, sperm samples from 102 patients with a normal sperm index but treated with assisted reproductive technology (ART) were collected for small RNA sequencing, and the relationships between differentially expressed small RNAs and the fertilization rate (FR), blastocyst rate and high-quality embryo rate (HQER) were analyzed. The sperm samples with high hsa-mir-191 expression had a higher FR, effective embryo rate (EER) and HQER. hsa-mir-191 was used as a single indicator to predict the HQER. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.686. We also found that hsa-mir-191 expression is correlated with an abnormal sperm rate (cor = 0.29, p < 0.01). We also evaluated the relationship between hsa-mir-34c and early human embryo development in these 102 sperm samples and obtained negative results. Conclusions: These findings suggest that high hsa-mir-191-5p expression is associated with improved early human embryonic development and that hsa-mir-191-5p could be used as a potential marker to screen high-quality sperm to improve the success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

scholarly journals Protocol for controlled modeling of human epiblast and amnion development using stem cells

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zheng ◽  
Jianping Fu
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Primitive Streak ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Human Embryology ◽  
Post Implantation ◽  
Advance Knowledge ◽  
Early Human

Abstract Due to the inaccessibility of post-implantation human embryos and the restriction on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos cultured beyond 14 days, the knowledge of early post-implantation human embryogenesis remains extremely limited. Recently, we have developed a microfluidic in-vitro platform, based on human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), which is capable of recapitulating several key developmental landmarks of early human post-implantation embryonic development, including lumenogenesis of the epiblast (EPI), amniogenesis, and specification of primordial germ cells (PGCs) and of primitive streak (PS) cells. Given its controllability and reproducibility, the microfluidic platform provides a powerful experimental platform to advance knowledge of human embryology and reproduction. This protocol describes the preparation of the microfluidic device and its implementation for modeling human post-implantation epiblast and amnion development using hPSCs.

scholarly journals Robust Metabolomics Approach For The Evaluation Of Human Embryos From In-Vitro Fertilization.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Figoli ◽  
Marcelo Garcea ◽  
Claudio Bisioli ◽  
Valeria Tafintseva ◽  
Volha Shapaval ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Selection Criterion ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Spectral Features ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Culture Supernatants

Abstract The identification of the most competent embryos for transfer to the uterus constitutes the main challenge of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). We established a metabolomic-based approach applying Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) on 130 samples of 3-days embryo culture supernatants from 26 embryos that implanted and 104 that failed. Examining the internal structure of the data by unsupervised multivariate analysis, it was observed that the supernatants of nonimplanted embryos contained highly heterogeneous spectral features. These features were overlapping with metabolic-implantation fingerprints, thus demonstrating that in establishing embryo-assessment models a one-class modelling involving only the samples with positive-implantation outcomes should be applied. Analysis of variance confirmed that the women´s age (>40 years) undermined the implantation of the embryos exhibiting implantation metabolomics, and also that constituted a condition triggering embryos to express nonimplantation metabolomics. We conclude that IVF-success rates can be significantly improved if FTIR spectroscopy is used as an embryo-selection criterion.

Doing Wrong to ‘Lulu’ and ‘Nana’? Applying Parfit to the He Jiankui Experiment

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-170
Author(s):  
Norman K. Swazo ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Gene Editing ◽  
Genomic Research ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Derek Parfit ◽  
Identity Problem ◽  
Vitro Fertilization

In November 2018, Dr. He Jiankui announced the birth of two baby girls born through the use of in vitro fertilization technology and the use of the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9. There has been nigh uniform international condemnation of the clinical trial for violating international norms governing genomic research, especially research in human embryos that has implications for the germline. At issue also is the question whether the parents and the clinical research team harmed, and therefore wronged, the two girls. Here this question is engaged through application of the reasoning Derek Parfit has provided on the non-identity problem. One concludes that on this reasoning the parents are not morally culpable on that argument, although there is other reasoning that is to be considered to resist the Parfitian conclusion.

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