NU 2011-100
Inventors
Alison Kim
Thomas O'Halloran
Teresa Woodruff*
Miranda Lee Bernhardt
Betty Kong
Abstract
Northwestern researchers have discovered and developed a novel way to improve the outcome of assisted reproductive technology (ART). They found that zinc plays a critical and previously unrecognized role in the control of meiotic progression in the mammalian oocyte. By manipulating zinc availability, primarily through chelation, they show that an arrested egg can be activated and resume the cell cycle. This invention involves the use of zinc chelation, via intracellular, extracellular or substrate-attached chelators, to limit zinc availability and promote progression through specific meiotic arrest points. The utilization of these zinc-based tools could potentially lead to the production of fertilizable gametes in cases where oocytes collected are arrested and would currently be considered unusable with existing technologies.
Applications
Advantages
Publications
Kim AM, Bernhardt ML, Kong BY, Ahn RW, Vogt S, Woodruff TK and O'Halloran TV (2011) Zinc sparks are triggered by fertilization and facilitate cell cycle resumption in mammalian eggs. ACS Chemical Biology. 6: 716-723.
Bernhardt ML, Kim AM, O'Halloran TV and Woodruff TK (2011) Zinc requirement during meiosis I- meiosis II transition in mouse oocytes is independent of the MOS-MAPK pathway. Biology of Reproduction. 84: 526-536.
Kim AM, Vogt S, O'Halloran TV, Woodruff TK (2011) Zinc availability regulates exit from meiosis in maturing mammalian oocytes. Nature Chemical Biology. 6: 674-681.
IP Status
Issued US Patent No. 8,772,029