University of Southampton
Environmental Sensitivity of the Human Pre-Implantation Embryo (R0142)
Licence holder: Dr Franchesca Houghton
There is growing evidence that the environment experienced by early embryos (for example, the way in which they are grown in the laboratory, or the conditions that they experience in the mother's body) may influence growth and development, both in the womb and after birth.
These examples of embryonic ´programming' appear to make long-lasting changes in the way in which the embryo's genes work, particularly the genes involved in growth and development. This may occur by the environment affecting when and where a gene is active.
Programming effects on early embryos are of particular relevance to human assisted conception treatment where embryo culture takes place outside the mother's body for different periods of time.
We wish to examine genes that are involved in embryo development and are likely to be susceptible to embryonic programming, using sensitive molecular and microscopic procedures designed for early embryos.
Human embryos donated for research will be used after obtaining fully informed patient consent. The relative ´health' of the embryos will be measured and these results will be related to the methods used for generating and culturing the embryo and to factors associated with the mother, such as age and hormonal status.
In addition, studying the genes that are turned on and switched off in the early embryo should help to improve understanding of how embryonic stem (ES) cells are generated. Replacing damaged or destroyed cells within the human body with fresh healthy cells may provide a new way to treat a wide range of diseases (for example, kidney transplantation in kidney failure or bone marrow transplantation in leukaemia).
Stem cells from the very early embryo are potentially capable of forming all of the different types of cells in the body in unlimited quantities. Therefore, they represent an important source of cells for new approaches to treat diseases that are incurable at present. As part of this long term goal, this research will therefore help us to gather essential information about human ES cells and how they are formed.
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Page last updated: 11 April 2009
The HFEA operates within a fast-moving, complex and ethically challenging area