PRBB-CRG Session by Susana Chuva de Sousa Lopes
Leiden University Medical Center
Abstract
Human gametogenesis is a complex process that we are still far from understanding and even further from mimicking in the laboratory. Oogenesis starts with the specification of primordial germ cells and culminates with the production of mature (metaphase II) oocytes, ready to be fertilized and finally resume meiosis. I will discuss our ongoing efforts to characterize the different stages of human oogenesis at the single-cell (transcriptomics) level and how this framework together with bioengineering technologies, such as the use of microfluids and biomaterials, is contributing to optimize protocols to develop and mature human oocytes from the (fetal and adult) ovary. Moreover, I will discuss our advances on in vitro gametogenesis towards oocytes, starting from pluripotent stem cells. Learning how to develop and mature oocytes in the laboratory may lead to more effective personalized-therapy for fertility preservation and contribute to the development of an in vitro mini-ovary organoid model to use in human reproductive toxicology and disease modelling.
Host: Bernhard Payer; Elvan Boke
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