Long-term proliferation in culture and germline transmission of mouse male germline stem cells.
Spermatogenesis is a complex process that originates in a small population of spermatogonial stem cells. Here we report the in vitro culture of spermatogonial stem cells that proliferate for long periods of time. In the presence of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, epidermal growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and leukemia inhibitory factor, gonocytes isolated from neonatal mouse testis proliferated over a 5-month period (>10(14)-fold) and restored fertility to congenitally infertile recipient mice following transplantation into seminiferous tubules. Long-term spermatogonial stem cell culture will be useful for studying spermatogenesis mechanism and has important implications for developing new technology in transgenesis or medicine.
Kanatsu-Shinohara
Mito
M
Horizontal Medical Research Organization, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan. mitos@mfour.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Ogonuki
Narumi
N
Inoue
Kimiko
K
Miki
Hiromi
H
Ogura
Atsuo
A
Toyokuni
Shinya
S
Shinohara
Takashi
T
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D010641:Phenotype; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000502:physiology; D013093:Spermatogonia / Q000637:transplantation; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*