Finding of egg stem cells could treat fertility

- U.S. researchers say in a new study they have managed to isolate stem cells from the ovaries of reproductive age women and used them to make egg cells that appear to behave normally. The lab findings, published online Sunday by the journal Nature Medicine, could potentially lead to new reproductive technologies and possibly extend the years of a woman's fertility. Study leader Dr Jonathan Tilly, director of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, and Chief of Research, in the Vincent Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, told the press they feel their study clearly shows that during her reproductive life, a woman's ovaries contain stem cells capable of making new eggs. "The discovery of oocyte precursor cells in adult human ovaries, coupled with the fact that these cells share the same characteristic features of their mouse counterparts that produce fully functional eggs, opens the door for development of unprecedented technologies to overcome infertility in women and perhaps even delay the timing of ovarian failure," said Tilly, who is also a professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School. The discovery is still a long way from being useful to women in need of fertility treatments and many scientists remain skeptical that these ovarian stem cells really can mature into healthy eggs. Dr. Avner Hershlag, chief of the Center for Human Reproduction at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, N.Y., said the study is "exciting" but emphasized the work is still very preliminary. "This is experimental," Hershlag said, adding: "This is a beginning of perhaps something that could bring in new opportunities, but it's going to be a long time in my estimation until clinically we'll be able to actually have human eggs created from stem cells that make babies."