title: Induction of pluripotency in primordial germ cells.
abstract: Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the founder cells of all gametes. PGCs differentiate from pluripotent epiblasts cells by mesodermal induction signals during gastrulation. Although PGCs are unipotent cells that eventually differentiate into only sperm or oocytes, they dedifferentitate to pluripotent stem cells known as embryonic germ cells (EGCs) in vitro and give rise to testicular teratomas in vivo, which indicates a "metastable" differentiation state of PGCs. We have shown that an appropriate level of phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling, balanced by positive and negative regulators, ensures the establishment of the male germ lineage by preventing its dedifferentiation. Specifically, hyper-activation of the signal leads to testicular teratomas and enhances EGC derivation efficiency. In addition, PI3K/Akt signaling promotes PGC dedifferentiation via inhibition of the tumor suppressor p53, a downstream molecule of the PI3K/Akt signal. On the other hand, Akt activation during mesodermal differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) generates PGC-like pluripotent cells, a process presumably induced through equilibrium between mesodermal differentiation signals and dedifferentiation-inducing activity of Akt. The transfer of these cells to ESC culture conditions results in reversion to an ESC-like state. The interconversion between ESC and PGC-like cells helps us to understand the metastability of PGCs. The regulatory mechanisms of PGC dedifferentiation are discussed in comparison with those involved in the dedifferentiation of testicular stem cells, ESC pluripotency, and somatic nuclear reprogramming.
authors: Department of Pathology, Medical School, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan. tkimura@patho.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors: Tohru
authors: T
authors: Kimura
authors: Toru
authors: T
authors: Nakano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008648:Mesoderm; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008954:Models, Biological; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013724:Teratoma / Q000378:metabolism; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D051176:beta Catenin; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3