An Open Access Article from latest Stem Cells Express: Derivation of human embryonic stem cells from developing and arrested embryos. The researchers from UK., Spain and Serbia demonstrate that arrested embryos which never reach the morula or blastocyst stage and are generally regarded as “dead” have proliferative potential and could be used for the derivation of hESC. Out of 13 late (16-24 cells) arrested embryos one stable and fully characterised hESC line was derived, which expressed specific pluripotency markers (TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81, SSEA4, alkaline phosphatase, OCT4, NANOG, TERT and REX1) and differentiated under in vitro and in vivo conditions into derivates of all three germ layers. One reason of embryo arrest used to be chromosomal irregularities, but interestingly the derived cell line showed a normal female karyotype. Link
Yet another offer for collecting human embryonic stem cells in an ethically less controversial way.
