Differentiated cells are more efficient than adult stem cells for cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Since the creation of Dolly via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), more than a dozen species of mammals have been cloned using this technology. One hypothesis for the limited success of cloning via SCNT (1%-5%) is that the clones are likely to be derived from adult stem cells. Support for this hypothesis comes from the findings that the reproductive cloning efficiency for embryonic stem cells is five to ten times higher than that for somatic cells as donors and that cloned pups cannot be produced directly from cloned embryos derived from differentiated B and T cells or neuronal cells. The question remains as to whether SCNT-derived animal clones can be derived from truly differentiated somatic cells. We tested this hypothesis with mouse hematopoietic cells at different differentiation stages: hematopoietic stem cells, progenitor cells and granulocytes. We found that cloning efficiency increases over the differentiation hierarchy, and terminally differentiated postmitotic granulocytes yield cloned pups with the greatest cloning efficiency.
Sung
Li-Ying
LY
Center for Regenerative Biology and Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA.
Gao
Shaorong
S
Shen
Hongmei
H
Yu
Hui
H
Song
Yifang
Y
Smith
Sadie L
SL
Chang
Ching-Chien
CC
Inoue
Kimiko
K
Kuo
Lynn
L
Lian
Jin
J
Li
Ao
A
Tian
X Cindy
XC
Tuck
David P
DP
Weissman
Sherman M
SM
Yang
Xiangzhong
X
Cheng
Tao
T
D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D019976:Cloning, Organism / Q000379:methods*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008954:Models, Biological; D053652:Nuclear Transfer Techniques; D011247:Pregnancy; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology