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Why All Cells Matter
But a research team led by John C. Herr, Ph.D., Director of UVA’s Center for Research in Contraceptive and Reproductive Health, has shown that all early embryo cells are not alike. PHOTO: The distribution pattern of RNA-binding protein MOEP19 is shown during stages of early mouse development. UVA researchers have found evidence that the mammalian oocycle is pre-patterned with respect to RNA-binding proteins, which could affect several medical fields, including in-vitro fertilization and cloning. Published in the Feb. 15 edition of Developmental Biology, Herr’s team showed that the RNA binding protein MOEP19 segregates asymmetrically in early development, particularly at the time when the early embryo begins to divide into cells with different purposes. “We have not understood that the egg contains a previously unappreciated level of organization that indicates that the egg itself has already segregated the key signals for subsequent development into a special domain at the egg’s edge,” explains Herr. “From the first two daughter cells that form after the egg divides, this organization is transmitted in a striking pattern.” Essentially, this shows scientists and physicians should not be removing any cells from an embryo, as the cells being removed may in fact have important properties for the developing embryo which would be lost if they were removed, according to Herr. “This is the most important finding in the lab in my career,” adds Herr. “The potential impact that our demonstration of cell-patterning has on in-vitro fertilization, human stem cell research and cloning is monumental. We do not know the true impact of removing just a single cell from the early embryo and need to better understand the whole process before engaging in any thoughts of cloning.”
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Like most mammals, human life comes from a single fertilized egg. This egg (oocyte) divides into the billions of cells which make up the human body. Embryologists had thought that this egg and the cells that make up the early embryo are all of equal potential. So if a cell or two is removed from the early eight-cell embryo, it would not affect the embryo’s subsequent development because all of the early cells have the same makeup.