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Hereditas(Beijing) ›› 2022, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (4): 269-274.doi: 10.16288/j.yczz.22-034

• Frontier Focus • Previous Articles     Next Articles

In vitro investigation of mammalian early embryonic development

Zichuan Wang1,2(), Jiaqi Zhang1,2, Lei Li1,2()   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Stem Cell and Regeneration, Beijing Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    2. Savaid Medical School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2022-02-14 Revised:2022-03-18 Online:2022-04-20 Published:2022-03-28
  • Contact: Li Lei E-mail:wangzichuan@ioz.ac.cn;lil@ioz.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China No(2018YFC1004500);Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China No(2021YFC2700300);the National Natural Science Foundation of China No(31930033)

Abstract:

Mammalian embryonic development starts from a fertilized egg, which cleaves to form morula and blastocyst. At the same time, the early embryo is transported from the fallopian tube to the uterus for implantation. After implantation, the embryo undergoes gastrulation and forms a gastrula, further developing a new individual. The development of embryo in the uterus causes the difficulties in sampling and observation, hindering the understanding of mammalian embryonic development. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the technology to overcome the barrier of in vivo embryonic development. In December 2021, “Embryo ‘husbandry’ opens windows into early development” was selected as one of Science’s 2021 breakthroughs. This review focuses on the achievements of in vitro mammalian embryos and discusses their limitations and the future applications for the investigation of mammalian embryonic development and human related diseases.

Key words: early embryogenesis, in vitro culture of mammalian early embryo, human early embryo-like structures, blastoids