scholarly journals Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in Reproductive Science—A Comparison of Protocols Used to Generate and Define Male Germ Cells from Pluripotent Stem Cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 1028
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kurek ◽  
Halima Albalushi ◽  
Outi Hovatta ◽  
Jan-Bernd Stukenborg
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Growth Factors ◽  
Germ Cell ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Male Germ Cells ◽  
Germ Cell Differentiation

Globally, fertility-related issues affect around 15% of couples. In 20%–30% of cases men are solely responsible, and they contribute in around 50% of all cases. Hence, understanding of in vivo germ-cell specification and exploring different angles of fertility preservation and infertility intervention are considered hot topics nowadays, with special focus on the use of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) as a source of in vitro germ-cell generation. However, the generation of male germ cells from hPSCs can currently be considered challenging, making a judgment on the real perspective of these innovative approaches difficult. Ever since the first spontaneous germ-cell differentiation studies, using human embryonic stem cells, various strategies, including specific co-cultures, gene over-expression, and addition of growth factors, have been applied for human germ-cell derivation. In line with the variety of differentiation methods, the outcomes have ranged from early and migratory primordial germ cells up to post-meiotic spermatids. This variety of culture approaches and cell lines makes comparisons between protocols difficult. Considering the diverse strategies and outcomes, we aim in this mini-review to summarize the literature regarding in vitro derivation of human male germ cells from hPSCs, while keeping a particular focus on the culture methods, growth factors, and cell lines used.

scholarly journals Advances in Female Germ Cell Induction from Pluripotent Stem Cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Maisumu Gulimiheranmu ◽  
Xinjie Wang ◽  
Junmei Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Germ Cell ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Human Female ◽  
Germ Cell Differentiation

Germ cells are capable of maintaining species continuity through passing genetic and epigenetic information across generations. Female germ cells mainly develop during the embryonic stage and pass through subsequent developmental stages including primordial germ cells, oogonia, and oocyte. However, due to the limitation of using early human embryos as in vivo research model, in vitro research models are needed to reveal the early developmental process and related mechanisms of female germ cells. After birth, the number of follicles gradually decreases with age. Various conditions which damage ovarian functions would cause premature ovarian failure. Alternative treatments to solve these problems need to be investigated. Germ cell differentiation from pluripotent stem cells in vitro can simulate early embryonic development of female germ cells and clarify unresolved issues during the development process. In addition, pluripotent stem cells could potentially provide promising applications for female fertility preservation after proper in vitro differentiation. Mouse female germ cells have been successfully reconstructed in vitro and delivered to live offspring. However, the derivation of functional human female germ cells has not been fully achieved due to technical limitations and ethical issues. To provide an updated and comprehensive information, this review centers on the major studies on the differentiation of mouse and human female germ cells from pluripotent stem cells and provides references to further studies of developmental mechanisms and potential therapeutic applications of female germ cells.

scholarly journals Tissue of Origin, but Not XCI State, Influences Germ Cell Differentiation from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 2400
Author(s):  
Yolanda W. Chang ◽  
Arend W. Overeem ◽  
Celine M. Roelse ◽  
Xueying Fan ◽  
Christian Freund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Germ Cell ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Primordial Germ Cell ◽  
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Xist Expression ◽  
Germ Cell Differentiation ◽  
Differentiation Efficiency

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are not only a promising tool to investigate differentiation to many cell types, including the germline, but are also a potential source of cells to use for regenerative medicine purposes in the future. However, current in vitro models to generate human primordial germ cell-like cells (hPGCLCs) have revealed high variability regarding differentiation efficiency depending on the hPSC lines used. Here, we investigated whether differences in X chromosome inactivation (XCI) in female hPSCs could contribute to the variability of hPGCLC differentiation efficiency during embryoid body (EB) formation. For this, we first characterized the XCI state in different hPSC lines by investigating the expression of XIST and H3K27me3, followed by differentiation and quantification of hPGCLCs. We observed that the XCI state did not influence the efficiency to differentiate to hPGCLCs; rather, hPSCs derived from cells isolated from urine showed an increased trend towards hPGCLCs differentiation compared to skin-derived hPSCs. In addition, we also characterized the XCI state in the generated hPGCLCs. Interestingly, we observed that independent of the XCI state of the hPSCs used, both hPGCLCs and soma cells in the EBs acquired XIST expression, indicative of an inactive X chromosome. In fact, culture conditions for EB formation seemed to promote XIST expression. Together, our results contribute to understanding how epigenetic properties of hPSCs influence differentiation and to optimize differentiation methods to obtain higher numbers of hPGCLCs, the first step to achieve human in vitro gametogenesis.

217 PROTEIN-INDUCED TRANSDIFFERENTIATION INTO MALE GERM CELL-LIKE LINEAGE FROM CHICKEN FETAL BONE MARROW STEM CELLS

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
J. M. Yoo ◽  
J. J. Park ◽  
K. Gobianand ◽  
J. Y. Ji ◽  
J. S. Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Retinoic Acid ◽  
Germ Cell ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Male Germ Cell ◽  
Male Germ Cells ◽  
Germ Cell Differentiation ◽  
Transgenic Chickens

Bone marrow (BM)-derived stem cells are capable of transdifferentiation into multilineage cells like muscle, bone, cartilage, fat and nerve cells. In this study, we investigated the capability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) derived from BM into germ cell differentiation in the chicken. Chicken MSCs were isolated from BM of day 20 fertilized fetal chicken with Ficoll-Paque Plus. Isolated cells were cultured in advance-DMEM (ADMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and antibiotics. Once confluent, cells were subcultured until five passages. The cultured cells showed fibroblast-like morphology. The cells had positive expressions of Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog. Two induction methods were conducted to examine the ability of transdifferentation into male germ cells. In group 1, MSC were cultured in ADMEM containing retinoic acid and chicken testicular extracts proteins for 10 to 15 days. In group 2, MSC were permeabilized by streptolysin O and treated with chicken testicular protein extracts. In both treatment groups, MSC were cultured in ADMEM containing retinoic acid for 10 to 15 days. We found that chicken MSC had a positive expression of pluripotent proteins such as Oct4, Sox2, Nanog and a small population of chicken MSC seem to transdifferentiate into male germ cell-like cells. These cells expressed early germ cell markers and male germ-cell-specific markers (Dazl, C-kit, Stra8 and DDX4) as analysed by reverse transcription-PCR and immunohistochemistry. These results demonstrated that chicken MSC may differentiate into male germ cells and the same might be used as a potential source of cells for production of transgenic chickens. This study was carried out with the support of Agenda Program (Project No. PJ0064692011), RDA and Republic of Korea.

scholarly journals Towards consistent generation of pancreatic lineage progenitors from human pluripotent stem cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1680) ◽  
pp. 20140365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Rostovskaya ◽  
Nicholas Bredenkamp ◽  
Austin Smith
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Type I ◽  
Pancreatic Progenitors ◽  
Stem Cell Lines

Human pluripotent stem cells can in principle be used as a source of any differentiated cell type for disease modelling, drug screening, toxicology testing or cell replacement therapy. Type I diabetes is considered a major target for stem cell applications due to the shortage of primary human beta cells. Several protocols have been reported for generating pancreatic progenitors by in vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. Here we first assessed one of these protocols on a panel of pluripotent stem cell lines for capacity to engender glucose sensitive insulin-producing cells after engraftment in immunocompromised mice. We observed variable outcomes with only one cell line showing a low level of glucose response. We, therefore, undertook a systematic comparison of different methods for inducing definitive endoderm and subsequently pancreatic differentiation. Of several protocols tested, we identified a combined approach that robustly generated pancreatic progenitors in vitro from both embryo-derived and induced pluripotent stem cells. These findings suggest that, although there are intrinsic differences in lineage specification propensity between pluripotent stem cell lines, optimal differentiation procedures may consistently direct a substantial fraction of cells into pancreatic specification.

scholarly journals Generation of male germ cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells): an in vitro and in vivo study

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Zhu ◽  
Hong-Liang Hu ◽  
Peng Li ◽  
Shi Yang ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Ips Cells ◽  
In Vivo Study ◽  
Male Germ Cells ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

Retinoic acid and/or progesterone differentiate mouse induced pluripotent stem cells into male germ cells in vitro

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 2159-2169
Author(s):  
Javad Amini Mahabadi ◽  
Abolfazl Aazami Tameh ◽  
Sayyed Alireza Talaei ◽  
Mohammad Karimian ◽  
Tahereh Rahiminia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Retinoic Acid ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Male Germ Cells ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

scholarly journals In vivo and in vitro differentiation of male germ cells in the mouse

Reproduction ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orly Lacham-Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Germ Cell ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Embryoid Bodies ◽  
Cellular Interactions ◽  
Germ Cell Differentiation

Primordial germ cells appear in the embryo at about day 7 after coitum. They proliferate and migrate towards the genital ridge. Once there, they undergo differentiation into germ stem cells, known as ‘A spermatogonia’. These cells are the foundation of spermatogenesis. A spermatogonia commit to spermatogenesis, stay undifferentiated or degenerate. The differentiation of primordial germ cells to migratory, postmigratory and germ stem cells is dependent on gene expression and cellular interactions. Some of the genes that play a crucial role in germ cell differentiation are Steel, c-Kit, VASA, DAZL, fragilis, miwi, mili, mil1 and mil2. Their expression is stage specific, therefore allowing solid identification of germ cells at different developmental phases. In addition to the expression of these genes, other markers associated with germ cell development are nonspecific alkaline phosphatase activity, the stage specific embryonic antigen, the transcription factor Oct3/4 and β1- and α6-integrins. Commitment of cells to primordial germ cells and to A spermatogonia is also dependent on induction by the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-4. With this knowledge, researchers were able to isolate germ stem cells from embryonic stem cell-derived embryoid bodies, and drive these into gametes either in vivo or in vitro. Although no viable embryos were obtained from these gametes, the prospects are that this goal is not too far from being accomplished.

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