The ability of mouse nuclear transfer embryonic stem cells to differentiate into primordial germ cells.
Nuclear transfer embryonic stem cells (ntESCs) show stem cell characteristics such as pluripotency but cause no immunological disorders. Although ntESCs are able to differentiate into somatic cells, the ability of ntESCs to differentiate into primordial germ cells (PGCs) has not been examined. In this work, we examined the capacity of mouse ntESCs to differentiate into PGCs in vitro. ntESCs aggregated to form embryoid bodies (EB) in EB culture medium supplemented with bone morphogenetic protein 4(BMP4) as the differentiation factor. The expression level of specific PGC genes was compared at days 4 and 8 using real time PCR. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemical staining were used to detect Mvh as a specific PGC marker. ntESCs expressed particular genes related to different stages of PGC development. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemical staining confirmed the presence of Mvh protein in a small number of cells. There were significant differences between cells that differentiated into PGCs in the group treated with Bmp4 compared to non-treated cells. These findings indicate that ntESCs can differentiate into putative PGCs. Improvement of ntESC differentiation into PGCs may be a reliable means of producing mature germ cells.
Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Vahid
V
Mansouri
Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ; Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad
M
Salehi
Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohsen
M
Nourozian
Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Fatemeh
F
Fadaei
Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Reza Mastery
RM
Farahani
Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abbas
A
Piryaei
Department of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran.
Ali
A
Delbari
differentiation; germ cells; nuclear transfer embryonic stem cells