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4D recordings reveal the first moments of human embryo development
At the end of July, scientists from the Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, in collaboration with their partners from IVF clinic Reprofit International, published the results of their joint research on early embryonic development in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.
The long-standing research interest of Zuzana Holubcová's team is human egg and embryo biology. In the recently published article, the team focused on studying the mechanisms of the first embryonic division, which represents one of the critical milestones of human embryo development. In their paper, the researchers describe how the spatial arrangement of cell division, which takes place shortly after fertilization, significantly affects the chance of successful embryonic development. Their results correct schemes in embryology textbooks based on data from mice, which differ greatly in their reproductive biology from humans.
The study's authors also report on human embryo developmental plasticity. The presence of certain developmental features that are traditionally considered negative predictors of embryo quality in clinical practice does not necessarily mean a failure of embryonic development.
Understanding of the biological mechanisms behind embryonic development is essential to improve the effectiveness of assisted reproduction and the quality of care for couples experiencing fertility issues. Even in healthy young people, only about one out of three embryos conceived develops into a healthy newborn. Experts still have limited information about why human development is so inefficient since the research use of human embryos is strictly regulated.
To study basic biological processes, the Brno-based team used time-lapse recordings of preimplantation embryonic development obtained for clinical purposes during IVF treatment. The researchers did not perform any interventions; they only observed and rigorously analyzed the anonymized image recordings.
The latest article, first authored by a doctoral student of the Faculty of Medicine Volodymyr Porokh (study programme Biomedical Sciences), is the 12th impacted publication produced in collaboration with Reprofit International, one of the long-standing partners of the faculty. Tight links to IVF professionals not only allow for the straightforward translation of scientific findings from the laboratory to clinical practice but also improve the quality of education of future reproductive specialists at our faculty.
