title: Assessment of pluripotency and multilineage differentiation potential of NTERA-2 cells as a model for studying human embryonic stem cells.
abstract: Embryonal carcinoma cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from teratocarcinomas and are considered to be the malignant counterparts of human embryonic stem cells. As there are few reliable experimental systems available to study the molecular mechanisms governing normal embryogenesis, well-characterized human embryonal carcinoma stem cell lines may provide a robust and simple model to study certain aspects of pluripotency and cellular differentiation. Here, we have analysed NTERA-2 cL.D1 cells at molecular and cellular levels during expansion and differentiation, via formation of cell aggregates similar to embryoid bodies in embryonic stem cells. Thus, human embryonal carcinoma cells may provide a valuable insight into cell fate determination, into the embryonic ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm and their downstream derivatives.
authors.affiliation: Embryonic Stem Cell Group, Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Dhirubhai Ambani Life Sciences Center, R-282, TTC Industrial Area of MIDC, Thane-Belapur Road, Rabale, Navi Mumbai 400 701, India. rajarshi_pal@relbio.com
authors.forename: Rajarshi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.forename: Geeta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ravindran
mesh_terms: D002449:Cell Aggregation / Q000502:physiology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000502:physiology; D054278:Embryonal Carcinoma Stem Cells; D004707:Endoderm / Q000166:cytology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology