Do pluripotent stem cells exist in adult mice as very small embryonic stem cells?
Very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) isolated from bone marrow (BM) have been reported to be pluripotent. Given their nonembryonic source, they could replace blastocyst-derived embryonic stem cells in research and medicine. However, their multiple-germ-layer potential has been incompletely studied. Here, we show that we cannot find VSELs in mouse BM with any of the reported stem cell potentials, specifically for hematopoiesis. We found that: (1) most events within the "VSEL" flow-cytometry gate had little DNA and the cells corresponding to these events (2) could not form spheres, (3) did not express Oct4, and (4) could not differentiate into blood cells. These results provide a failure to confirm the existence of pluripotent VSELs.
Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Masanori
M
Miyanishi
Yasuo
Y
Mori
Jun
J
Seita
James Y
JY
Chen
Seth
S
Karten
Charles K F
CK
Chan
Hiromitsu
H
Nakauchi
Irving L
IL
Weissman
D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D048429:Cell Size; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*
D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C494174:Pou5f1 protein, mouse