The South China Morning Post, March 8, 2000 Japanese and US researchers have transplanted human ovarian tissue into rats, saying it showed signs of being able to produce eggs.
It is the first time scientists have developed human ovaries in the bodies of another species.
The experiment, conducted by the Asahikawa Medical College and the University of Utah, could theoretically lead to cultivating human eggs for in vitro fertilisation, said Akiyasu Mizukami, of the medical college in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
"Although there are ethical issues involved, it is possible that the future will see the practical application of human egg banks," he said yesterday.
"It could be a godsend for people suffering infertility."
The experiment, conducted at the US university, involved taking ovarian tissue from three women. The tissue was cut into small pieces and injected into the rats' abdomens.
The rats were then given a growth-promoting hormone. The ovarian tissue began to grow, and was followed by the first stage of the development of egg sacs.
"We stopped the experiment at that stage. We need to find out how we can nurture eggs from that stage," Mr Mizukami said.
It would have taken about 90 days for the eggs to mature. "The basic idea was to create an egg bank for patients suffering infantile cancer who survive into adulthood and want to have children," Mr Mizukami said.
An applied biology professor at Shinshu University in central Japan, Akira Hanada, said the method would pose no biological problems as it was impossible for rodent cells to infiltrate a human ovum.
A Greek doctor in Japan last year claimed a breakthrough with rats and mice that produced human sperm after being implanted with the human cells responsible for producing sperm.
The South China Morning Post, http://www.scmp.com/News/Front/Article/FullText_asp_ArticleID-20000308021642799.asp
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