Reproduction Abstracts

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, propagate by self-renewal and can give rise to all cells of the body. Thus, they are a useful model to investigate a range of degenerative disorders such as type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. However, hESCs are notoriously difficult to maintain in culture as colonies have a propensity to spontaneously differentiate making it difficult to unifo...

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst. They proliferate by self-renewal and have the potential to develop into all cells of the three germ layers. Thus, hESCs hold great potential for use in regenerative medicine. hESCs are difficult to maintain in culture and have a tendency to spontaneously differentiate. Culture at a low, 5% oxygen concentration is beneficial for the maintenance of a wholly pluripotent cell population comp...

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) proliferate by self-renewal and hold much promise for regenerative medicine since they have the potential to develop into all cells of the body. In culture, hESCs are difficult to maintain as they have a propensity to spontaneously differentiate. A low, 5% oxygen concentration (hypoxia) promotes hESC maintenance but the mechanisms which regulate this effect are unknown. We hypothesise that changes in environmental oxygen alter the expression ...

Introduction: Preimplantation embryos depend on nutrients provided in the reproductive tract for development. Early human embryos have an increasing requirement for amino acids as they develop from the 1-cell through to the blastocyst stage. In vivo, the uterus provides the final environment for preimplantation development, but surprisingly, the nutritional composition of human uterine fluid has been little investigated. This study aims to examine the amino acid compo...