title: Sertoli cell-conditioned medium induces germ cell differentiation in human embryonic stem cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the spontaneous germ cell differentiation capacity of VUB hESC lines, develop a protocol for the induction of germ cell differentiation using conditioned medium from Sertoli cells (SCCM) and compare it to existing protocols.
  
  
  METHODS
  hESC were allowed to differentiate spontaneously or after the addition of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and/or SCCM. VASA transcripts were measured by relative quantification real-time RT-PCR to determine the efficiency of germ cell differentiation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  VUB hESC lines can differentiate spontaneously towards the germ cell lineage, however, more consistently in an embryoid body approach than in monolayer cultures. BMPs and SCCM significantly improve VASA expression, but do not have a synergistic effect. Direct contact of differentiating hESC with Sertoli cells does not improve VASA expression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SCCM contains inductive factors for germ cell differentiation and could represent an element for in-vitro differentiation to germ cells.
authors.affiliation: Research Group Biology of the Testis (BITE), Department of Embryology and Genetics, Medical School of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium. Mieke.Geens@uzbrussel.be
authors.forename: Mieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geens
authors.forename: Karen Dora
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Sermon
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van de Velde
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tournaye
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned