HEALTH FROM TRUSTED SOURCES: Forming model embryos from stem cells in the lab

Maastricht: Scientists from the MERLN Institute, associated with Brightlands, and the Hubrecht Institute (KNAW) have successfully created in the laboratory embryo-like structures from mouse stem cells. These model embryos resemble natural ones to the extent that, for the first time, they implant into the uterus and initiate pregnancy. This radically new method opens the door to understanding the first and hidden processes of life, problems of infertility, or the embryonic origin of diseases. This scientific breakthrough has been published in Nature.

Opening the black box of early pregnancy

We still know very little about how early embryos develop, due to their small size (the width of a hair) and inaccessibility in the womb. Such knowledge is however vital as minor flaws at the start of pregnancy can prevent the embryo to implant in utero or contribute to diseases during adult life. Researchers have now discovered how to build model embryos in the laboratory from stem cells. Leader of the scientific team Dr. Nicolas Rivron (MERLN Institute and Hubrecht Institute): ‘Our research helps to understand the perfect path an early embryo must take for a healthy development.’

Self organizing life

Watch the video to find out how the laboratory of Nicolas Rivron can induce stem cells to organise themselves and develop into an early embryo-like structure in a dish.
Video copyright: Nicolas Rivron

A conversation between stem cells

The early embryo is a hollow sphere formed by less than a hundred cells. It comprises an outer layer of cells, the future placenta, and a small cluster of inner cells, the future embryo. Stem cell lines representing these inner and outer parts were first cultured independently and largely multiplied in the laboratory. Using engineering technologies researchers then assembled them in a recreated environment that triggered their conversation and self-organisation. While observing the process Dr. Nicolas Rivron noticed that ‘it is the embryonic cells that instruct the placental cells how to organise and to implant in utero. By understanding this molecular conversation, we open new perspectives to solve problems of infertility, contraception, or the adult diseases that are initiated by small flaws in the embryo’. For example, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.

Benefits of follow-up research

For the first time, it is now possible to form early model embryos in unlimited numbers that implant in utero. Prof. dr. Niels Geijsen, principal investigator at the Hubrecht Institute: ‘We now have a new way to study the earliest stages of embryonic development, and to explore the influence of environmental factors on development and disease.’
Prof. dr. Clemens van Blitterswijk, department chair at the MERLN Institute of Maastricht University: ‘This research opens the path to a new biomedical discipline. We can create large numbers of model embryos and build up new knowledge by systematically testing new medical techniques and potential medicines. It also dramatically reduces the need for animal experimentation’.

Full paper: Blastocyst-like structures generated solely from stem cells
Nicolas C Rivron [corresponding author], Javier Frias-Aldeguer, Erik J Vrij, Jean-Charles Boisset, Jeroen Korving, Judith Vivié, Roman K Truckenmüller, Alexander van Oudenaarden, Clemens A van Blitterswijk*, Niels Geijsen*. *Equal contribution.
Nature DOI 10.1038/s41586-018-0051-0

Watch this series of pictures depicting the research.
Copyright all images: Nicolas Rivron
Dr. Nicolas Rivron also talks about the research in a Nature podcast

The image is a representation of a blastoid (a synthetic embryo formed from stem cells) formed using plastic bricks (these are not Lego®) and that floats into a uterus. The green cells are the trophoblast stem cells (the future placenta), whereas the red cells are the embryonic stem cells (the future embryo).
The image is the same as image 1 but without the arrows depicting the cell types. It is a representation of a blastoid (a synthetic embryo formed from stem cells) formed using plastic bricks (these are not Lego®) and that floats into an uterus. The green cells are the trophoblast stem cells (the future placenta), whereas the red cells are the embryonic stem cells (the future embryo).
The image is a representation of many blastoids, which are synthetic embryos formed in the lab, from stem cells. The green cells are the trophoblast stem cells (the future placenta), whereas the red cells are the embryonic stem cells (the future embryo).
The image is a representation of two blastoids, which are synthetic embryos formed in the lab, within microwells, from stem cells. The green cells are the trophoblast stem cells (the future placenta), whereas the red cells are the embryonic stem cells (the future embryo).
The image is a picture of two blastoids, which are synthetic embryos formed in the lab, from stem cells. The green cells are the trophoblast stem cells (the future placenta), whereas the red cells are the embryonic stem cells (the future embryo).
The image is a representation of a blastoid, which is a synthetic embryo formed in the lab, from stem cells. The green cells are the trophoblast stem cells (the future placenta), whereas the red cells are the embryonic stem cells (the future embryo).
The image is a representation of a blastoid, which is a synthetic embryo formed in the lab, from stem cells. The green cells are the trophoblast stem cells (the future placenta), whereas the red cells are the embryonic stem cells (the future embryo).