title: Propagation of an infertile hermaphrodite mouse lacking germ cells by using nuclear transfer and embryonic stem cell technology.
abstract: Animals generated by systematic mutagenesis and routine breeding are often infertile because they lack germ cells, and maintenance of such lines of animals has been impossible. We found a hermaphrodite infertile mouse in our colony, a genetic male with an abnormal Y chromosome lacking developing germ cells. We tried to clone this mouse by conventional nuclear transfer but without success. ES cells produced from blastocysts, which had been cloned by using somatic cell nuclear transfer (ntES cells) from this mouse, were also unable to produce offspring when injected into enucleated oocytes. Although we were able to produce two chimeric offspring using these ntES cells by tetraploid complementation, they were infertile, because they also lacked developing germ cells. However, when such ntES cells were injected into normal diploid blastocysts, many chimeric offspring were produced. One such male offspring transmitted hermaphrodite mouse genes to fertile daughters via X chromosome-bearing sperm. Thus, ntES cells were used to propagate offspring from infertile mice lacking germ cells.
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Biology, RIKEN Kobe, 2-2-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Kobe 650-0047, Japan.
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wakayama
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishigami
authors.forename: Nguyen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Thuan
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: Takafusa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hikichi
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mizutani
authors.forename: Ryuzo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yanagimachi
authors.forename: Teruhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wakayama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002678:Chimera / Q000235:genetics; D019976:Cloning, Organism; D004171:Diploidy; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007246:Infertility / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D053652:Nuclear Transfer Techniques; D010053:Ovary / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D011123:Polyploidy; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D013737:Testis / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology