近日,上海交通大學馮立新研究小組報導一個全新的體外誘導精子和卵子的方法。馮立新研究員採用的方法可從雄性胚胎幹細胞(XY 染色體)在體外同時生成遊動的精子和卵子。更為重要的是他們的研究進一步闡明了從胚胎幹細胞生成精子和卵子分子機理,是這一領域研究的重大突破。
之前,科學家們已經證明了胚胎幹細胞(ESC)能在體外分化出胚性生殖細胞,馮立新研究小組體外誘導分化並不經過類胚體形成,通過利用轉基因技術直接從胚胎幹細胞轉化為生殖細胞。Dazl基因是表達生殖細胞特異RNA結合蛋白的基因,人和多種動物的Dazl基因是精子發生的重要調控因子,Dazl基因突變或表達缺乏將導致精子發生過程減數分裂障礙和雄性不育。研究者通過Dazl基因的異位表達,最終在體外將小鼠胚胎幹細胞同時誘導出了遊動的精子和卵子。此外, Dazl基因的瞬時過量表達使Nanog受到抑制,但是小鼠胚胎幹細胞核抗原被誘導成生殖細胞。Dazl基因敲低導致了生殖細胞部分標記物基因表達降低,比如說Stella,MVH和Prdm1等。馮立新研究小組不僅證明了Dazl基因是控制生殖細胞分化的一個主要控制基因,而且通過Dazl基因異位表達誘導出小鼠胚胎幹細胞在體外分化成了生殖細胞精子和卵子。
2009年10月28日,史丹福大學人類胚胎幹細胞及再生組織醫學研究小組Kehkooi Kee 等在Nature發表了他們最新的研究成果,研究者在實驗室通過人體幹細胞製造出人工精子和卵子,這一研究成果進一步證實了馮立新研究團隊所做的工作的前沿性和重要性,同時也表明我國在體外誘導幹細胞生成精子和卵子研究處於國際領先地位。(生物谷Bioon.com)
馮立新研究員參加「幹細胞之春系列活動——幹細胞技術與應用講座」並作精彩報告
Nature:利用幹細胞培育出人工精子卵子
生物谷推薦原始出處:
Journal of Molecular Cell Biology (2009), 1–11 doi:10.1093/jmcb/mjp026
Dazl Promotes Germ Cell Differentiation from Embryonic Stem Cells
Zhuo Yu1, Ping Ji1, Jinping Cao1, Shu Zhu1, Yao Li2, Lin Zheng3, Xuejin Chen2, and Lixin Feng1,*
1 Laboratory for Germ Cell Research, Institute of Medical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
2 Department of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
3 Department of Pathology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
It has been demonstrated that through the formation of embryoid bodies (EBs) germ cells can be derived from embryonic stem (ES) cells. Here, we describe a transgene expression approach to derive germ cells directly from ES cells in vitro without EB formation. Through the ectopic expression of Deleted in Azoospermia-Like (Dazl), a germ cell-specific RNA-binding protein,both motile tailed-sperm and oocytes were induced from mouse ES (mES) cells in culture. Furthermore, transient overexpression of Dazl led to suppression of Nanog but induced germ cell nuclear antigen in mES cells. Dazl knockdown resulted in reduction in the expression of germ cell markers including Stella, MVH and Prdm1. Our study indicates that Dazl is a master gene controlling germ cell differentiation and that ectopic expression of Dazl promotes the dynamic differentiation of mouse ES cells into gametes in vitro.