Open Access Pub publishes peer-reviewed, free-to-read open-access articles. Showing
articles matching Embryo — open any to read the full text,
or download the PDF or XML.
Nov 2025 DOI 10.14302/issn.3070-5657.je-24-5327
Human embryonic development is a highly coordinated and complex process that transforms a single fertilized cell into a fully formed human organism. This process is governed by intricate molecular mechanisms involving genetic regulation, signal transduction pathways, and intercellular communication. This study explores key molecular pathways controlling human embryonic development, focusing on the roles of morphogens, transcription factors, signaling molecules, and epigenetic modifications. By reviewing the most recent literature and experimental studies, we aim to highlight the molecular orchestration that directs cell fate decisions, tissue patterning, and organogenesis in humans.
Feb 2022 DOI 10.14302/issn.2379-8572.joa-22-4072
This translational paper discusses differentiation‑stage factors from zebrafish embryos as epigenetic regulators with potential to reverse neurosensory hearing loss. It outlines experimental evidence, delivery concepts, and research gaps.
Dec 2017 DOI 10.14302/issn.3070-5657.je-17-1759
Olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) and loggerheads (Caretta caretta) are two closely phylogenetically related sea turtles that nest in very different thermal habitat. Olive ridleys nest in pan-tropical beaches whereas loggerheads nest in more temperate beaches. In the context of climate change, the temperature in temperate beaches will increase much more than for tropical beach due to buffering effect of air humidity in the later. We have determined the thermal reaction norm for embryonic growth in both species using field records of incubation temperatures and incubation length from loggerheads in Western Mediterranean Sea or olive ridleys from Pacific coast of Guatemala. We show that the optimum temperature for the growth of embryos is lower for loggerheads than for olive ridleys. This makes loggerhead turtles particularly sensitive to increase of beach temperature as it is expected due to effect of global warming in temperature regions. Furthermore, olive ridleys are more resilient to increase of temperatures and should not suffer from sublethal incubation temperatures.
Jun 2017 DOI 10.14302/issn.2577-2279.ijha-17-1539
Fingerprint is an impression made by the friction ridges that are almost parallel at constant crest to crest wavelength. The pattern is dominated by central features, such as whorls, loops, arches and triradii. Fingerprints have been used for several decades in forensic and medical sciences. The fingerprints characteristics such uniqueness, consistency and universality are the main features that are used by forensic experts in identification processes, are well developed during intra-uterine life. Understanding embryogenesis of fingerprints is essential in linking its features to some disease conditions. The purpose of this review was to highlight information regarding establishment, formation, hypotheses and factors affecting fingerprints. Applications of the fingerprints in forensic and medical sciences were also highlighted. Both environmental (in utero) and genetic factors have role to play in the formation of the fingerprints. The primary role of fingerprints is personal identification; these can be achieved through revealing sex, ethnicity, diet and lifestyle of an individual. In another perspective the fingerprints can be used as tools in diagnosis and ascertaining presence of disease conditions, however, this is population specific.
Dec 2025 DOI 10.14302/issn.2575-1212.jvhc-24-4889
L-Carnitine (Lc) acts as an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals, especially superoxide anions and protects cells against oxidative damage-induced apoptosis, as following ovulation, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation increases in oocytes, Oocytes exhibit an intracellular defense mechanism against an oxidative attack. This outcome adversely affects fertilization and subsequent embryonic development, thereby increasing the risk of an early miscarriage and abnormal development of offspring. The purpose of this study was to see how adding LC to either maturation or fertilization medium affected the developmental competence of immature bovine oocytes. In this study, Ovaries from apparently normal reproductive organs of cattle were collected within 30 minutes from slaughter and evisceration of animals. Cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected by aspiration of medium sized ovarian follicles (4-8 mm). COCs of acceptable quality were selected, washed and incubated in tissue culture media 199 (TCM199) supplemented with 10% heat inactivated fetal calf serum, 5 μg/ml luteinizing hormone (LH), 0.5 μg/ml follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and 1 μg/ml estradiol-17β for 20:22 hour at 38.5 C◦ under 5% CO2 in air with 90% humidity. different concentrations of LC (1.25,2.5 and 5mM) were used. The results were consistent for both maturation and fertilization and there is a significant increase in maturation, fertilization., cleavage and blastocyst rate. In conclusion, LC has important role in IVEP through addition of LC to maturation media or culture media it improved nuclear maturation and blastocyst formation rates in bovine oocytes.
Sep 2024 DOI 10.14302/issn.2474-7785.jarh-24-5212
From an academic and clinical point of view, stem cell therapy represents one of the most promising advances in modern medicine, with the ability to partially induce the regeneration of acutely injured or chronically damaged tissues. Stem cell research provides new opportunities for the treatment of various conditions, among them diabetes mellitus, HIV, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative illnesses. Stem cell therapy is currently not FDA-approved in the US (except for certain blood cancers). While bioethics and religion have mostly discussed the source of cells, i.e., embryonic cells that require the destruction of embryos versus adult tissue for research purposes, we also discuss the controversies with regard to currently offered therapies, and marketing of unapproved procedures from a scientific, clinical, and religious viewpoint.
Apr 2024 DOI 10.14302/issn.2997-2086.jfs-23-4651
This article has been retracted on April 10, 2025. VIEW THE RETRACTION NOTICE (https://doi.org/10.14302/issn.2997-2086.jfs-25-5857) Myelomeningocele (MMC), a class of spina bifida is a type of neural tube defect. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year approximately 1,400 babies born in the United States have spina bifida. The disease manifests with the lack of skin and bone covering the caudal part of the spinal cord. The patient developing such a condition often develops lifelong impaired lower limb mobility accompanied by hydrocephalus, and urinary and bowel incontinence. The available interventions include prenatal and postnatal surgery to fuse the dura. Prenatal surgery performed before 26 weeks of gestation reduces the risk of death or the need for ventriculoperitoneal shunting. It also enhanced results on a comprehensive index for mental and motor function. When compared to postnatal surgery, prenatal surgery reduces the manifestation of several secondary outcomes, including the degree of hindbrain herniation seen in the Chiari II malformation. Stem cell therapy for MMC on animal models of chick, ovine, and rodents with reported cases 15/63, 15, and 136, respectively, using human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs), Neural Stem Cells (NSCs), Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) showed significant coverage of MMC defect and slight neurogenesis was also observed. With an understanding of medical literature about in-utero regenerative capacity, it is to be appreciated that placental stem cells surgically seeded within a biocompatible scaffold of the cell patches can play a part in alleviating the spinal cord manifestation associated with MMC. Documented animal studies show that incorporating Placental Mesenchymal Stem Cells in prenatal surgery has reported improved neurogenesis and lower limb mobility. In an ovine myelomeningocele model, the development of in-utero myelomeningocele repair with human Placental Mesenchymal Stem Cells seeded onto an extracellular matrix (PMSC-ECM) enhances motor findings. The clinical trial for the first stem cell therapy on human subjects known as the “CuRe Trial: Cellular Therapy for In Utero Repair of Myelomeningocele.” is expected to be finished by 2030. So far, the cases undergoing treatment have shown significant leg movement and a greater degree of bowel and urinary control. This FDA-approved clinical trial is envisioned to be the future of treating MMC.
Oct 2022 DOI 10.14302/issn.2692-1537.ijcv-22-4296
Some evidence confirms the paradoxical beneficial role of harmful antigens when used in highly diluted forms. In this experiment, we observed cytokine gene expression changes in Gallus gallus embryo after challenge with Delta SARS-CoV-2 RBD spike protein antigen, from a concentration of 10 µg/mL to a series of highly diluted forms in ethanol, along with controls. We have also studied pre-and post- experimental combined sets of higher (10 µg/mL) and significantly lower antigen concentrations (attogram level). Attogram and zeptogram level concentrations of the antigen showed consistently remarkable up-regulation of INF-α among different cytokine gene expressions. INF-β gene expressions at the zeptogram level of the antigen showed consistent changes, although not so outstanding. The pre-experimental set having attogram level antigen administered first, followed by a 10µg/mL antigen challenge, showed excellent cytokine balance. Other experimental groups, including the control sets, showed variable results at different concentrations.
Jun 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2689-4602.jes-21-3868
Hox genes, their conserved derivatives, and the pathways responsible for their expression have been extensively studied in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster;the experimentation done in the Drosophila model system has given developmental biologists tools to better understand the role and significance of Hox genes and their derivatives in anterior-posterior axis determination in the Drosophila embryo. Along with this, Drosophila research opened up the door to investigation on the conservation of Hox genes between vertebrates and invertebrates. Comparative embryology in mice, chickens, pufferfish, and zebrafish have shown conserved Hox gene expression patterns specifically along the anterior-posterior axis. Recently, comparative analysis performed on dorsal-ventral axis formation showed that patterning and segmentation of the spinal cord is influenced by the action of Hox genes as well. This review will briefly consider the evolution of the vertebrate brain and the evolution and conservation of Hox genes in regulating hindbrain patterning and spinal cord development.
Nov 2018
Intestinal malrotation is the incomplete rotation of the midgut during embryogenesis. The reported prevalence is 1 in 500 live births, however some studies report a prevalence as high as 1% of the population1, 2. Traditionally it is though as a disease of the pediatric population presenting as bilious emesis during the first year of life but can present with different symptoms even in adulthood. Presentation in older populations tends to be atypical, chronic abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea being the most commonly reported symptoms 3. However, as these symptoms accompany almost all-gastrointestinal pathology it is difficult to determine if abnormalities of rotation and fixation of the intestine are the cause for the symptoms in a given patient given its relative rarity. It therefore is important to have a high index of suspicion in patients with non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms. We report laparoscopic management of a patient with abnormal rotation/fixation who was treated for many years as celiac disease (CD). Celiac disease is an immune mediated systemic disorder elicited by gluten in genetically susceptible individuals4. It can present as chronic abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, failure to thrive, weight loss, stunted growth, distention and fatigue. His symptoms immediately resolved after surgery.
Jul 2018 DOI 10.14302/issn.2577-2279.ijha-18-2179
Cranial vault is the case surrounding the brain. Its structure differs in newborns than in adults in some aspects. Such differences should be clear for both health and family members. Moreover, the anatomy and embryology of fetal skull take a little attention in the previous literature and textbooks. Therefore, this short review aimed to clarify some aspects of anatomy and clinical importance of cranial vault features in newborns. The newborn vault is formed of multiple separate flat bones connected by fibrous tissues with wide soft gaps called fontanelles. Development of bones of skull vault is closely correlated with the expanding growth of the underlying brain. Such brain shouldn't be struggled by continuous tightening of the newborns' vault. Also, the newborn skull could be affected even by a fixed sleeping position.
Jun 2018
Our study aims to help researchers calculate resources based on a rat breeding colony for experiments on fetal lung development. The Wistar rat is commonly used in experimental research. In the context of fetal lung studies, the nitrofen rat is a model for pulmonary hypoplasia and congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Data needed to calculate resources for new experiments are not easily available. We prospectively acquired data on the reproductive performance and fetal outcome of 314 consecutive virgin Wistar dams in our fetal lung research breeding colony. We define the impact of breeding conditions on rat fertility and evaluate different methods to diagnose early rat gestation. Effects of nitrofen exposure as well as fetal surgery in terms of prenatal mortality and gross anatomical parameters of lung development are quantified in nitrofen-exposed and -unexposed fetuses from embryonic day 19 to 21 in 12h intervals. A reduced mating interval (1h) provides a great degree of experimental control with feasible pregnancy rates and a large litter size. Nitrofen exposure, as well as fetal surgery, depict high fetal survival rates. Fetal lung findings were very reproducible and could allow for reduction of animals utilized within experimental groups.
Jan 2018
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. In the United States, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. In Puerto Rico between 2008 and 2012, breast cancer was the most diagnosed type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. This is a case of 54 years old female diagnosed with stage IV right breast carcinoma. The patient complaints were weakness and a right breast ulcer. She started a metabolic correction therapy, which consisted of high intravenous vitamin C infusions, a nutritional supplementation plan, and Paleolithic diet. During treatment, both Glycohemoglobin and Carcinoembryonic Antigen levels decreased significantly, the right breast ulcer decreased in size, and the patient’s quality of life improved. Over the years, vitamin C studies have demonstrated a cytotoxic action against malignant cells. Based on the results from this case, we advocate continue studying possible adjuvant treatments for cancer patients, involving IV infusions of vitamin C and metabolic correction plans.
Nov 2017 DOI 10.14302/issn.2576-2818.jfb-17-1812
The number of patients with poor ovarian response (POR) for in vitro fertilization (IVF) varies from 9 to 25%, especially high in patients of advanced maternal age. Although various stimulation protocols have been developed to improve clinical outcomes in patients with POR, a typical and effective protocol remains improvement. Some physicians prefer a mild stimulation protocol, while others like hyper stimulation protocol to obtain more eggs. This study was designed to compare the efficiency of a mild stimulation protocol with hyper stimulation protocol in patients with POR, particularly focused on live birth rate after IVF. Data were collected from 30 poor responders (over 39 years old). Patients were assigned to 2 protocols at the start of ovarian stimulation: Patients in group A were treated with a hyper stimulation (GnRH-antagonist) protocol and patients in group B were treated with a mild stimulation protocol. The ovarian stimulation characteristics, gonadotropin doses, number of eggs collected, number of high quality embryos, clinical pregnancy rates and live birth rates were compared between two groups.Although number of eggs, number of high quality embryos, clinical pregnancy rates were significantly higher in group A than in group B, miscarriage rate was also higher in group A than group B, which eventually resulted in a similar live birth rate (6.7%) in both groups. However, dosages of gonadotropins were smaller and stimulation days were shorter in group B than in group A. When poorly responding patients were treated for IVF, similar live birth rates were observed with mild stimulation protocol and hyper-stimulation protocol. After considering the higher dosages of gonadotropins and longer stimulation days in patients with hyper-stimulation protocol, it is suggested that poor responders may benefit with the mild stimulation protocol for IVF.
Sep 2017 DOI 10.14302/issn.3070-5657.je-17-1638
Development of the hand occurs as a complex series of events. In order to understand the mechanisms of developmental hand anomalies, the clinician has to understand the normal embryonic development of the hand. In this review, we present the development of the hand in the light of new literature knowledge.
Aug 2017 DOI 10.14302/issn.2576-2818.jfb-14-553
All independent experimental data on epithelial and glandular cells lines of human endometrium support the evidence for a rapid production of eicosanoids from the LH/hCG receptors when exposed to the hCG hormone. Prostaglandins rapidly act on the surrounding endometrial stromal cells throughout the adenylyl cyclase enzyme leading to very large amounts of cAMP and angiogenic factors (VEGF) production. The cAMP is the most important intracellular second messenger and along with progesterone accomplishes the full process of decidualization and acquisition of receptivity after estrogenic priming of the endometrium. The status of uterine receptivity lasts few days only and timing for successful embryo-signal transduction system activation by the endometrium is probably short. In absence of in vivo embryonic signals it is impossible to predict, on individual bases, how the intensity of all the complex interlinked molecular changes of decidualization might ever be in case of exposure to native hCG. In other terms, amount of prostaglandins and cAMP produced in response to variably glycosylated hCG are all, in vivo, not measurable variables and should be viewed as a “wave” of biochemical chain reactions. Embryonic hCG is secreted in form of multiple isomers having an unpredictable variable level of glycosylation and control of this variable remains elusive. During cycles of ovarian stimulation many drugs (FSH, LH, HCG) interact with different G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) making it possible to alter the prostaglandins-mediated decidualization process ready to be elicited only by hCG of pregnancy. Since the molecules (cAMP and progesterone) controlling endometrial stromal cells differentiation into decidual cells are critical for successful implantation and placenta formation, the evidence of fast eicosanoids production associated with endometrial LH/hCG receptors exposure to hCG and the potential by human endometrium to produce, in response, very large amounts of cAMP has biological and clinical relevance.
Jan 2016 DOI 10.14302/issn.2574-4372.jesr-15-768
The human OCT4 gene encodes a transcription factor that maintains pluripotency and self-renewal in Embryonic Stem (ES) cells. This gene generates several known transcripts by alternative promoter and alternative splicing (OCT4A, OCT4B and OCT4B1). Even though OCT4A is the main isoform responsible for stemness properties, several recent controversial studies claimed that this isoform is expressed in cancer cell lines and differentiated cells, in addition to the ES cells. Our in silico studies revealed that OCT4A promoter has a completely match binding site for hsa-miR-1285. This microRNA was detected in the human embryonic stem cells for the first time and further studies showed that miR-1285 can target some tumor suppressor genes,(TSGs), such as p53, and oncogenic genes, such as TGM2. Additional bioinformatics analysis of short RNA sequencing data from ENCODE cell lines showed that miR-1285 is expressed in different cancer cell lines and differentiated cells. In this study, we supposed that miR-1285 potentially can bind to the OCT4 promoter and might regulate transcription of the OCT4 in the human cancer cell lines and differentiated cells.
Jun 2015 DOI 10.14302/issn.2574-4372.jesr-14-607
Cancer is influenced by the ability of cells to maintain circadian rhythms in molecular and metabolic processes. Disturbance of the underlying circadian timing mechanism in circadian clock cells leads to a higher frequency and more rapid progression of cancer. Cancer stem cells with properties of embryonic and somatic stem cells have been implicated as tumor initiators in several types of cancers. Although tumors are reported to have disorganized circadian rhythms, evidence of in vitro circadian rhythms in cancer stem cells of gliomas was recently presented. The possibility and consequences of circadian clocks functioning in cancer stem cells within tumors is examined, and the possible benefits to these cells from circadian timing is discussed in relation to cancer treatments.