Human embryonic stem cells

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.F. Pera ◽  
B. Reubinoff ◽  
A. Trounson

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are cells derived from the early embryo that can be propagated indefinitely in the primitive undifferentiated state while remaining pluripotent; they share these properties with embryonic germ (EG) cells. Candidate ES and EG cell lines from the human blastocyst and embryonic gonad can differentiate into multiple types of somatic cell. The phenotype of the blastocyst-derived cell lines is very similar to that of monkey ES cells and pluripotent human embryonal carcinoma cells, but differs from that of mouse ES cells or the human germ-cell-derived stem cells. Although our understanding of the control of growth and differentiation of human ES cells is quite limited, it is clear that the development of these cell lines will have a widespread impact on biomedical research.

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 4746-4746
Author(s):  
Tammi Taylor ◽  
Wilbert Derbigny ◽  
Young-June Kim ◽  
Hal E. Broxmeyer

Abstract Embryonic stem (ES) cells have the capacity to produce all cell types of the body. Understanding murine ES (mES) cell proliferation, survival, differentiation, and self renewal will enhance knowledge of developmental biology and essential use of ES cells. Recently, Toll Like Receptor (TLR) activation has been shown by others to play a role in influencing the differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells. Previous studies have also shown that TLR activation prevents mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteocytes and plays a role in bone repair. We hypothesized that certain TLR’s would be expressed on mES cells and that the ligands for these expressed TLR’s would induce functional activity in the mESC’s. Therefore, we wanted to determine if TLRs are expressed on mES cells and if so, are they functional. Three different mES cell lines (R1, CGR8, and E14) were used to determine if TLRs are expressed at the mRNA level using primers for murine TLR1-9 mRNA. We found that TLR’s 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9 were expressed at the mRNA level, but TLR’s 4, 5, 7, and 8 were not. Based on the availability of antibodies to TLR’s, and using flow cytometry, we found expression of TLR2 but not TLR 4 on the surface of all three mES cell lines. TLR ligands were used to treat mES cells in the presence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) for an hour. Activation of TLR2 by its ligand Pam3Cys, a synthetic tri-acyl lipoprotein, on mES cells induced NF-κβ nuclear translocation when compared to ES cells not stimulated with TLR ligands. LPS, the ligand for TLR4 did not induce NF-κβ nuclear translocation on ES cells, consistent with lack of cell surface expression of TLR4 on mES cells. TLR expression and TLR ligand interaction were not associated with changes in the morphology of the mES cells or expression of Oct-4, SSEA-1, KLF-4, or Sox-2, markers for maintenance of the undifferentiated state of mES cells. This suggests that the cells remain in an undifferentiated state even after TLR activation by Pam3Cys in the presence of LIF. Thus our study has identified functionally active TLR2 on the surface of mES cells, information that may be of use to further defining a role for TLR’s on ES cells, and for manipulation of other ES cell functions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 635-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Wobus ◽  
Kenneth R. Boheler

Stem cells represent natural units of embryonic development and tissue regeneration. Embryonic stem (ES) cells, in particular, possess a nearly unlimited self-renewal capacity and developmental potential to differentiate into virtually any cell type of an organism. Mouse ES cells, which are established as permanent cell lines from early embryos, can be regarded as a versatile biological system that has led to major advances in cell and developmental biology. Human ES cell lines, which have recently been derived, may additionally serve as an unlimited source of cells for regenerative medicine. Before therapeutic applications can be realized, important problems must be resolved. Ethical issues surround the derivation of human ES cells from in vitro fertilized blastocysts. Current techniques for directed differentiation into somatic cell populations remain inefficient and yield heterogeneous cell populations. Transplanted ES cell progeny may not function normally in organs, might retain tumorigenic potential, and could be rejected immunologically. The number of human ES cell lines available for research may also be insufficient to adequately determine their therapeutic potential. Recent molecular and cellular advances with mouse ES cells, however, portend the successful use of these cells in therapeutics. This review therefore focuses both on mouse and human ES cells with respect to in vitro propagation and differentiation as well as their use in basic cell and developmental biology and toxicology and presents prospects for human ES cells in tissue regeneration and transplantation.


2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujiro Tanaka ◽  
Tamako Ikeda ◽  
Yukiko Kishi ◽  
Shigeo Masuda ◽  
Hiroaki Shibata ◽  
...  

The ERas gene promotes the proliferation of and formation of teratomas by mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. However, its human orthologue is not expressed in human ES cells. This implies that the behavior of transplanted mouse ES cells would not accurately reflect the behavior of transplanted human ES cells and that the use of nonhuman primate models might be more appropriate to demonstrate the safety of human ES cell-based therapies. However, the expression of the ERas gene has not been examined in nonhuman primate ES cells. In this study, we cloned the cynomolgus homologue and showed that the ERas gene is expressed in cynomolgus ES cells. Notably, it is also expressed in cynomolgus ES cell-derived differentiated progeny as well as cynomolgus adult tissues. The ERas protein is detectable in various cynomolgus tissues as assessed by immunohistochemisty. Cynomolgus ES cell-derived teratoma cells, which also expressed the ERas gene at higher levels than the undifferentiated cynomolgus ES cells, did not develop tumors in NOD/Shi- scid, IL-2Rγnull (NOG) mice. Even when the ERas gene was overexpressed in cynomolgus stromal cells, only the plating efficiency was improved and the proliferation was not promoted. Thus, it is unlikely that ERas contributes to the tumorigenicity of cynomolgus cells. Therefore, cynomolgus ES cells are more similar to human than mouse ES cells despite that ERas is expressed in cynomolgus and mouse ES cells but not in human ES cells.


2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin F. Pera

The recent development of embryonic stem (ES) cells from human blastocysts has the potential to revolutionize many of our approaches to human biology and medicine. Continued objection to the use of human ES cells on ethical grounds may inhibit progress or defer this opportunity indefinitely. It is essential that the ethical discussion proceed on a sound scientific basis. The ethical controversy surrounding human ES cells concerns their origin from human blastocysts and the perception of their developmental potential. It is likely that the worldwide requirement for human ES cells will be met by the development of a small number of cell lines, as has been the case in the mouse; current rates of success for human ES cell establishment suggest that only a modest number of embryos will be required to achieve this goal. It is in the public interest that human ES cell lines be derived under circumstances that will enable their widespread distribution with minimum encumbrances to academic researchers throughout the world. In considering the developmental potential of ES cells, an important distinction exists between pluripotentiality, or the ability to develop into a wide range of somatic and extraembryonic tissues, and totipotentiality, the ability of a cell or collection of cells to give rise to a new individual given adequate maternal support. There is no evidence that ES cells from any species can give rise to a new individual except when combined with cells which are the immediate progeny of a zygote. These developmental limitations of ES cells appear to relate to their inability to undergo axis formation and to generate the body plan. Alternatives to blastocyst-derived ES cells include embryonic germ cells, adult tissue stem cells, transdetermination of committed somatic cells, and therapeutic cloning. These research areas are complimentary and synergistic to ES cell research and it is premature and counterproductive to suggest that one avenue should be pursued in preference to another. The combination of cloning and ES cell technology has the potential to address many important issues in transplantation medicine and research, but a better understanding of the reprogramming of somatic cells is required before we can regard ES cells derived from normal nd nuclear transfer blastocysts as equivalent.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 6755-6758
Author(s):  
B R Stanton ◽  
S W Reid ◽  
L F Parada

We have disrupted one allele of the N-myc locus in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells by using homologous recombination techniques and have obtained germ line transmission of null N-myc ES cell lines with transmission of the null N-myc allele to the offspring. The creation of mice with a deficient N-myc allele will allow the generation of offspring bearing null N-myc alleles in both chromosomes and permit study of the role that this proto-oncogene plays in embryonic development.


2021 ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Jonathan Slack

‘Embryonic stem cells’ focuses on embryonic stem (ES) cells, which are grown in tissue culture from the inner cell mass of a mammalian blastocyst-stage embryo. Human ES cells offer a potential route to making the kinds of cells needed for cell therapy. ES cells were originally prepared from mouse embryos. Although somewhat different, cells grown from inner cell masses of human embryos share many properties with mouse ES cells, such as being able to grow without limit and to generate differentiated cell types. Mouse ES cells have so far been of greater practical importance than those of humans because they have enabled a substantial research industry based on the creation of genetically modified mice.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 6817-6820 ◽  
Author(s):  
N G Sharpe ◽  
D G Williams ◽  
D S Latchman

The SmN protein is a component of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles and is closely related to the ubiquitous SmB and B' splicing proteins. It is expressed in a limited range of tissues and cell types, including several undifferentiated embryonal carcinoma cell lines and undifferentiated embryonic stem cells. The protein declines to undetectable levels when embryonal carcinoma or embryonic stem cells are induced to differentiate, producing primitive endoderm or parietal endoderm or yielding embryonal bodies. This decline is due to a corresponding decrease in the level of the SmN mRNA. The potential role of SmN in the regulation of alternative splicing in embryonic cell lines and early embryos is discussed.


Reproduction ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariborz Izadyar ◽  
Francis Pau ◽  
Joel Marh ◽  
Natalia Slepko ◽  
Tracy Wang ◽  
...  

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) maintain spermatogenesis by self-renewal and generation of spermatogonia committed to differentiation. Under certain in vitro conditions, SSCs from both neonatal and adult mouse testis can reportedly generate multipotent germ cell (mGC) lines that have characteristics and differentiation potential similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells. However, mGCs generated in different laboratories showed different germ cell characteristics, i.e., some retain their SSC properties and some have lost them completely. This raises an important question: whether mGC lines have been generated from different subpopulations in the mouse testes. To unambiguously identify and track germ line stem cells, we utilized a transgenic mouse model expressing green fluorescence protein under the control of a germ cell-specific Pou5f1 (Oct4) promoter. We found two distinct populations among the germ line stem cells with regard to their expression of transcription factor Pou5f1 and c-Kit receptor. Only the POU5F1+/c-Kit+ subset of mouse germ line stem cells, when isolated from either neonatal or adult testes and cultured in a complex mixture of growth factors, generates cell lines that express pluripotent ES markers, i.e., Pou5f1, Nanog, Sox2, Rex1, Dppa5, SSEA-1, and alkaline phosphatase, exhibit high telomerase activity, and differentiate into multiple lineages, including beating cardiomyocytes, neural cells, and chondrocytes. These data clearly show the existence of two distinct populations within germ line stem cells: one destined to become SSC and the other with the ability to generate multipotent cell lines with some pluripotent characteristics. These findings raise interesting questions about the relativity of pluripotency and the plasticity of germ line stem cells.


2008 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Annerén

Pluripotent ES (embryonic stem) cells can be expanded in culture and induced to differentiate into a wide range of cell types. Self-renewal of ES cells involves proliferation with concomitant suppression of differentiation. Some critical and conserved pathways regulating self-renewal in both human and mouse ES cells have been identified, but there is also evidence suggesting significant species differences. Cytoplasmic and receptor tyrosine kinases play important roles in proliferation, survival, self-renewal and differentiation in stem, progenitor and adult cells. The present review focuses on the role of tyrosine kinase signalling for maintenance of the undifferentiated state, proliferation, survival and early differentiation of ES cells.


2012 ◽  
Vol 529-530 ◽  
pp. 385-390
Author(s):  
Koichi Imai ◽  
Fumio Watari ◽  
Kazuaki Nakamura ◽  
Akito Tanoue

The risks of nanomaterials for future generations should be elucidated. Thus, it is important to establish an experimental method to accurately examine embryotoxicity. We have conducted anin vitroembryotoxicity test with mouse ES cells to examine the embryotoxicities of various nanomaterials. In this study, the C60 fullerene did not influence the differentiation of ES-D3 cells and "non embryotoxicity". In the future, the biological safety should be comprehensively examined by improving dispersion in medium.


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