Stem Cells in Mammalian Gonads.
Stem cells have great value in clinical application because of their ability to self-renew and their potential to differentiate into many different cell types. Mammalian gonads, including testes for males and ovaries for females, are composed of germline and somatic cells. In male mammals, spermatogonial stem cells maintain spermatogenesis which occurs continuously in adult testis. Likewise, a growing body of evidence demonstrated that female germline stem cells could be found in mammalian ovaries. Meanwhile, prior studies have shown that somatic stem cells exist in both testes and ovaries. In this chapter, we focus on mammalian gonad stem cells and discuss their characteristics as well as differentiation potentials.
Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental & Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. 800. Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, 200240, China. jiwu@sjtu.edu.cn.|Key Laboratory of Fertility Preservation and Maintenance of Ministry of Education, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, China. jiwu@sjtu.edu.cn.|Shanghai Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China. jiwu@sjtu.edu.cn.
Ji
J
Wu
Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental & Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. 800. Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Xinbao
X
Ding
Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental & Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. 800. Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, 200240, China.
Jian
J
Wang
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D010053:Ovary / Q000166:cytology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology*
Germline stem cells; Gonad; Somatic stem cells