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Live imaging of late-stage preimplantation human embryos reveals de novo mitotic errors Open
Existing methods to image chromosome segregation errors are not suitable for studying human embryos at advanced preimplantation stages. As chromosomal errors are a leading cause of miscarriage and infertility, it remains unclear whether mi…
View article: A blastocyst-derived <i>in vitro</i> model of the <i>human</i> chorion
A blastocyst-derived <i>in vitro</i> model of the <i>human</i> chorion Open
SUMMARY The placenta supports the foetus by mediating nutrient and gas exchange, hormone production, and immune protection. Yet, human placental biology remains poorly understood due to limited in vitro models. The foetal part of the place…
View article: Initiation and maintenance of the pluripotent epiblast in pre-implantation human development is independent of NODAL signaling
Initiation and maintenance of the pluripotent epiblast in pre-implantation human development is independent of NODAL signaling Open
The human blastocyst contains the pluripotent epiblast from which human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can be derived. ACTIVIN/NODAL signaling maintains expression of the transcription factor NANOG and in vitro propagation of hESCs. It is un…
Transcription factor-based transdifferentiation of human embryonic to trophoblast stem cells Open
During the first week of development, human embryos form a blastocyst composed of an inner cell mass and trophectoderm (TE) cells, the latter of which are progenitors of placental trophoblast. Here, we investigated the expression of transc…
Suppression of ERK signalling promotes pluripotent epiblast in the human blastocyst Open
Studies in the mouse demonstrate the importance of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and extra-cellular receptor tyrosine kinase (ERK) in specification of embryo-fated epiblast and yolk-sac-fated hypoblast cells from uncommitted inner cell ma…
MICA: a multi-omics method to predict gene regulatory networks in early human embryos Open
Recent advances in single-cell omics have transformed characterisation of cell types in challenging-to-study biological contexts. In contexts with limited single-cell samples, such as the early human embryo inference of transcription facto…
Delay of human early development via in vitro diapause Open
SUMMARY Many mammals can control the timing of gestation and birth by pausing embryonic development at the blastocyst stage. It is unknown whether the capacity to pause development is conserved, in general across mammals, and more specific…
Publisher Correction: Actin-driven chromosome clustering facilitates fast and complete chromosome capture in mammalian oocytes Open
Funder: \n Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft \n https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001659
Mammalian Oocytes Store mRNAs in a Mitochondria-Associated Membraneless Compartment Open
During the final stages of oocyte growth, transcription ceases only to resume following fertilization. During this cessation, the oocyte and the embryo can only use stores mRNAs to synthesize new products, meaning the storage of maternal m…
A conserved role of the Hippo signalling pathway in initiation of the first lineage specification event across mammals Open
Our understanding of the molecular events driving cell specification in early mammalian development relies mainly on mouse studies, and it remains unclear whether these mechanisms are conserved across mammals, including humans. We have sho…
MICA: A multi-omics method to predict gene regulatory networks in early human embryos Open
Recent advances in single-cell-omics have been transformative to characterise cell types in challenging to study biological contexts. It is technically difficult to infer transcription factor-gene regulatory interactions from these dataset…
Actin-driven chromosome clustering facilitates fast and complete chromosome capture in mammalian oocytes Open
Accurate chromosome segregation during meiosis is crucial for reproduction. Human and porcine oocytes transiently cluster their chromosomes before the onset of spindle assembly and subsequent chromosome segregation. The mechanism and funct…
Mammalian oocytes store mRNAs in a mitochondria-associated membraneless compartment Open
Full-grown oocytes are transcriptionally silent and must stably maintain the messenger RNAs (mRNAs) needed for oocyte meiotic maturation and early embryonic development. However, where and how mammalian oocytes store maternal mRNAs is uncl…
Biochemical Hazards during Three Phases of Assisted Reproductive Technology: Repercussions Associated with Epigenesis and Imprinting Open
Medically assisted reproduction, now considered a routine, successful treatment for infertility worldwide, has produced at least 8 million live births. However, a growing body of evidence is pointing toward an increased incidence of epigen…
A conserved role of Hippo signaling in initiation of the first lineage specification event across mammals Open
Our understanding of the molecular events driving cell specification in early mammalian development relies mainly on mouse studies, and it remains unclear whether these mechanisms are conserved across mammals, including humans. We have rec…
Mechanism of Spindle Pole Organization and Instability in Human Oocytes Open
(Abstracted from Science 2022;375:eabj3944) Approximately 25% to 50% of human eggs are aneuploid, with even higher rates among older women. Aneuploidy is a leading cause of abnormal embryonic development resulting in miscarriage and geneti…
Are UMFA (un‐metabolized folic acid) and endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) co‐responsible for sperm degradation? An epigenetic/methylation perspective Open
A decrease in sperm quality that is reflected in alteration of all classical sperm parameters is now observed in developed countries, and has been attributed to exposure to endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs). EDCs are also present in mat…
Mechanism of spindle pole organization and instability in human oocytes Open
Human oocytes are prone to assembling meiotic spindles with unstable poles, which can favor aneuploidy in human eggs. The underlying causes of spindle instability are unknown. We found that NUMA (nuclear mitotic apparatus protein)–mediated…
Folic Acid, Folinic Acid, 5 Methyl TetraHydroFolate Supplementation for Mutations That Affect Epigenesis through the Folate and One-Carbon Cycles Open
Methylation is an essential biochemical mechanism that is central to the transmission of life, and crucially responsible for regulating gametogenesis and continued embryo development. The methylation of DNA and histones drives cell divisio…
KLF17 promotes human naïve pluripotency but is not required for its establishment Open
Current knowledge of the transcriptional regulation of human pluripotency is incomplete, with lack of interspecies conservation observed. Single-cell transcriptomics analysis of human embryos previously enabled us to identify transcription…
Transcription factor-based transdifferentiation of human embryonic to trophoblast stem cells Open
During the first week of development, human embryos form a blastocyst comprised of an inner cell mass and trophectoderm (TE) cells, the latter of which are progenitors of placental trophoblast. Here we investigated the expression of transc…
A single cell characterisation of human embryogenesis identifies pluripotency transitions and putative anterior hypoblast centre Open
Following implantation, the human embryo undergoes major morphogenetic transformations that establish the future body plan. While the molecular events underpinning this process are established in mice, they remain unknown in humans. Here w…
Image depository for Communications Biology paper 'Menstrual flow as a non-invasive source of endometrial organoids' Open
This depository contains all microscopy images presented in ‘Menstrual flow as a non-invasive source of endometrial organoids’ paper accepted at Communications Biology; Tereza Cindrova-Davies et al. present a method for deriving endometria…
Methylation: An Ineluctable Biochemical and Physiological Process Essential to the Transmission of Life Open
Methylation is a universal biochemical process which covalently adds methyl groups to a variety of molecular targets. It plays a critical role in two major global regulatory mechanisms, epigenetic modifications and imprinting, via methyl t…