A few years ago i wrote up some questions related to this. Cool it’s on NPR now
Question:
Can an adult somatic cell be de-differentiated into an induced pluripotent stem cell and then re-differentiated into a working/healthy germ cell. Can this germ cell undergo meiosis and produce spermatocytes and oocytes?
Can one of these induced gametes fertilize another induced gamete and produce viable offspring.
Can this system be applied to humans?
Can a somatic Cell from an XX female be de-differentiated and induced to become a functional sperm by re-differentiation (and placement into reconstituted testis)
If sperm can be induced from the somatic cells of an XX female, can these sperm be used to fertilize an oocyte? (Whether it is an induced oocyte from a somatic cell or naturally occurring oocyte)
Objective:
If possible, I want an induced sperm from an XX female somatic cell to fertilize a natural oocyte (or induced) and produce viable offspring capable of reproduction. The purpose is not to create a clone, such as seen in nuclear transfer, but to have a female derived sperm cell fertilize a female derived oocyte
The short answer to all of these questions is "Yes". Already in mice, and there's no reason to think it wouldn't be possible in humans someday. Although I think it's a ways out; we can induce pluripotent stem cells and do some differentiation into other cell types but I don't believe we're at fully functional germ cells in humans.
Question:
Can an adult somatic cell be de-differentiated into an induced pluripotent stem cell and then re-differentiated into a working/healthy germ cell. Can this germ cell undergo meiosis and produce spermatocytes and oocytes?
Can one of these induced gametes fertilize another induced gamete and produce viable offspring.
Can this system be applied to humans?
Can a somatic Cell from an XX female be de-differentiated and induced to become a functional sperm by re-differentiation (and placement into reconstituted testis)
If sperm can be induced from the somatic cells of an XX female, can these sperm be used to fertilize an oocyte? (Whether it is an induced oocyte from a somatic cell or naturally occurring oocyte)
Objective: If possible, I want an induced sperm from an XX female somatic cell to fertilize a natural oocyte (or induced) and produce viable offspring capable of reproduction. The purpose is not to create a clone, such as seen in nuclear transfer, but to have a female derived sperm cell fertilize a female derived oocyte