title: A mouse and embryonic stem cell derived from a single embryo.
abstract: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are a good material for the study of mammalian development, production of genetically modified animals, and drug discovery because they proliferate infinitely while maintaining a multilineage differentiation potency and a normal karyotype. However, ethical considerations limit the use of human embryos for the establishment of ESCs. Recently, ESCs have been produced from blastomeres divided by biopsy in mice and humans. The method is expected to be less controversial because it does not destroy the embryo. However, no one has yet produced both a pup and an ESC from a single embryo. Here, we describe the production of individual/ESC pairs from each of three embryos out of 20 attempts, and is thus considered efficient. Blastomere-derived ESC could differentiate some types of tissues and contribute to chimera mouse. These results show that each blastomere at two-cell stage possesses pluripotency and separated blastomeres maintain viability to develop to a pup or pluripotent ESC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teramura
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takehara
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kishi
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mihara
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawata
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takenoshita
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saeki
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iritani
authors.forename: Norimasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sagawa
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hosoi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy; D002678:Chimera; D019976:Cloning, Organism / Q000379:methods*; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013724:Teratoma