Basic Research on Gender-Sensitive Personalized Medicine
Several years ago, we developed an optical-spectroscopic method for the early determination of the sex of chicken embryos. The sex is determined in ovo on day 4 of incubation, automatically and with a high accuracy of approximately 95%. This method is based on molecular markers in the embryonic blood vessels. Contactless optical access to the vessels is achieved through an opening in the eggshell measuring just a few millimeters within the air sac, ensuring that the embryo remains protected by the inner shell membrane. The biochemical basis for sex determination is embryonic hemoglobin and associated sex-specific processes.
To elucidate sex-specific metabolic processes and conditions in embryonic blood, research is being conducted on, among other things, molecular oxygenation mechanisms in early-stage chicken embryos and their sex-specificity. The degree of oxygenation and the oxygen affinity of embryonic blood strongly shape the embryonic microenvironment and thus influence, for example, the growth and migration of human tumor cells introduced into the embryo.
Research Perspective
Using fluorescence spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT), our research group generates high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the anatomical structures of the chicken embryo in ovo. Furthermore, the proliferation and spread of tumor cells can be monitored, and sex-specific information regarding embryogenesis, angiogenesis, and oncogenesis can be derived from the results.
OCT-Bild eines 3,8 Tage alten Hühnerembryos