Metastable primordial germ cell-like state induced from mouse embryonic stem cells by Akt activation

ABSTRACT: Specification to primordial germ cells (PGCs) occurs under the mesoderm induction signals during gastrulation. Here, we found that Akt activation in embryonic stem (ES) cells generated self-renewing spheres during mesodermal differentiation induction and that the differentiation status of the sphere cells was in between ES cells and PGCs. Essential regulators for PGC specification and their downstream germ cell-specific genes were expressed in the spheres, showing that the cells of the sphere commenced the differentiation to germ lineage. However, the spheres could not proceed to spermatogenesis after transplantation to testes. Meanwhile, the transfer of the spheres to the original feeder-free ES cell culture conditions induced chaotic differentiation. In contrast, when the spheres we

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

SUBMITTER: Satoshi Kondo 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-18813 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress