Ma Youwen, Gu Mingwei, Chen Liguo, Shen Hao, Pan Yifan, Pang Yan, Miao Sheng, Tong Ruiqing, Huang Haibo, Zhu Yichen, Sun Lining
School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
Cardiology, Dushuhu Public Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou 215000, China.
Theranostics. 2021 May 25;11(15):7391-7424. doi: 10.7150/thno.58799. eCollection 2021.
The normal development and maturation of oocytes and sperm, the formation of fertilized ova, the implantation of early embryos, and the growth and development of foetuses are the biological basis of mammalian reproduction. Therefore, research on oocytes has always occupied a very important position in the life sciences and reproductive medicine fields. Various embryo engineering technologies for oocytes, early embryo formation and subsequent developmental stages and different target sites, such as gene editing, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technologies, have all been established and widely used in industrialization. However, as research continues to deepen and target species become more advanced, embryo engineering technology has also been developing in a more complex and sophisticated direction. At the same time, the success rate also shows a declining trend, resulting in an extension of the research and development cycle and rising costs. By studying the existing embryo engineering technology process, we discovered three critical nodes that have the greatest impact on the development of oocytes and early embryos, namely, oocyte micromanipulation, oocyte electrical activation/reconstructed embryo electrofusion, and the culture of early embryos. This article mainly demonstrates the efforts made by researchers in the relevant technologies of these three critical nodes from an engineering perspective, analyses the shortcomings of the current technology, and proposes a plan and prospects for the development of embryo engineering technology in the future.
卵母细胞和精子的正常发育与成熟、受精卵的形成、早期胚胎的着床以及胎儿的生长发育是哺乳动物繁殖的生物学基础。因此,对卵母细胞的研究在生命科学和生殖医学领域一直占据着非常重要的地位。针对卵母细胞、早期胚胎形成及后续发育阶段以及不同靶点的各种胚胎工程技术,如基因编辑、卵胞浆内单精子注射(ICSI)、植入前基因诊断(PGD)和体细胞核移植(SCNT)技术等均已建立并广泛应用于产业化。然而,随着研究不断深入,目标物种日益高级,胚胎工程技术也朝着更加复杂精细的方向发展。与此同时,成功率也呈下降趋势,导致研发周期延长、成本上升。通过研究现有胚胎工程技术流程,我们发现了对卵母细胞和早期胚胎发育影响最大的三个关键节点,即卵母细胞显微操作、卵母细胞电激活/重构胚电融合以及早期胚胎培养。本文主要从工程学角度阐述研究人员在这三个关键节点相关技术上所做的努力,分析当前技术存在的不足,并提出未来胚胎工程技术的发展规划与展望。