Generation of rat-mouse chimeras by introducing single cells of rat inner cell masses into mouse blastocysts

In the field of developmental biology and regenerative medicine,mammalian interspecific chimeras have been proved very useful for investigating early embryonic development and the immune system establishment,and extended to a promising potential for human organ generation（Rossant et al.,1982）.

Overall Blastocyst Quality, Trophectoderm Grade, and Inner Cell Mass Grade Predict Pregnancy Outcome in Euploid Blastocyst Transfer Cycles

Background： Despite recent advances that have improved the pregnancy success rates that can be achieved via in vitro fertilization （IVF） therapy, it is not yet clear which blastocyst morphological paralneters best predict the outcomes of single blastocyst transfer. In addition. most of the previous studies did not exclude the effect of embryo aneuploidy on blastocysts transfer. Thus, the present study investigated the predictive value of various parameters on the pregnancy outcomes achieved via the transfer of frozcn euploid blastocysts. Methods： The study retrospectively analyzed 914 single euploid blastocyst transfer cycles that were performed at the Peking U laivcrsity Third Hospital Reproductive Medical Center between June 2011 and May 2016. The expansion, trophectoderm （TE）. and inner cell mass （ICM） quality of the blastocysts were assessed based on blastocyst parameters, and used to differentiate between ＂excellent＂, ＂good＂, ＂average＂, and ＂poor＂-quality embryos. The relationship between these embryo grades and the achieved pregnancy outcomes was then analyzed via the Chi-square and logistic regression tests. Results： For embryo grades of excellent, good, average and poor, the clinical pregnancy rates were 65.0%. 50.3%, 50.3% and 33.3%. respectively; and the live-birth rates were 50.0%, 49.7%, 42.3% and 25.0%, respectively. Both the clinical pregnancy ratc （x2= 21.28. P = 0.001） and live-birth rate （x2 = 13.50, P 〈 0.001） increased with the overall blastocyst grade. Both rates were significanlly higher after the transfer era blastocyst that exhibited either an A-grade or B-grade TE, and similarly, an A-grade ICM. than after the transfer el a blastocyst that exhibited a C-grade TE and/or ICM. The degree of blastocysl expansion had no apparent effect on the clinical pregnancy or live-birth rate. All odds ratio were adjusted for patient age, body mass index, length （years） of infertility history, and infertility type. Conclusions： A higher overall euploid blastocyst quality is shown to correlate most strongly with optimal pregnancy outcomes. The study thus supports the use of the described TE and ICM morphological grades to augment current embryo selection criteria.

Establishment and characterization of two new human embryonic stem cell lines,SYSU-1 and SYSU-2

Background Human embryonic stem cells can propagate indefinitely in vitro and are able to differentiate into derivatives of all three embryonic germ layers. The excitement surrounding human embryonic stem cells lies largely in their potential to produce specialized cells that can be used for transplant therapies. However, further investigation requires additional cell lines with varying genetic background. Therefore, efforts to derive and establish more human embryonic stern cell lines are highly warranted. Methods Surplus embryos （blastocysts） from donors were used to isolate the inner cell mass by immunosurgery. All cells were cultured continuously on irradiated murine embryonic fibroblasts feed layer and likely human embryonic stem cell colonies were subsequently characterized by cell surface marker staining, karyotyping and teratoma formation. Results Two human embryonic stern cell lines （SYSU-1 and SYSU-2） were established from surplus embryos. The two lines express several pluripotency markers including alkaline phosphatase, SSEA- 4, Tra-1-60, Oct-4, Nanog and Rex-1. They remain in undifferentiated state with normal karyotype after prolonged passages and can form embryoid bodies in vitro and teratoma in vivo. Conclusion Two new human embryonic stem cell lines have been established from surplus embryos. They can be used to understand selfrenewal and differentiating mechanisms and provide more choices for regenerative medicine.