In many jurisdictions, restrictions prohibit the culture of human embryos beyond 14 days of development. However, recent reports describing the successful maintenance of embryos
to this stage have ...prompted many in the field to question whether the rule is still appropriate. This Spotlight article looks at the original rationale behind the 14-day rule and its relevance today in light of advances in human embryo culture and in the derivation of embryonic-like structures from human pluripotent stem cells.
The second week of embryonic development is a critical phase of the human life cycle and one that has been largely inaccessible to scientific investigation. Recent studies of human embryo models ...built from stem cells promise to yield dramatic insights into the key events of cell specification and morphogenesis that occur during this brief window of embryogenesis.
The second week of embryonic development is a critical phase of the human life cycle and one that has been largely inaccessible to scientific investigation. Recent studies of human embryo models built from stem cells promise to yield dramatic insights into the key events of cell specification and morphogenesis that occur during this brief window of embryogenesis.
Pluripotent cells in the mammalian embryo undergo state transitions marked by changes in patterns of gene expression and developmental potential as they progress from pre-implantation through ...post-implantation stages of development. Recent studies of cultured mouse and human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have identified cells representative of an intermediate stage (referred to as the formative state) between naive pluripotency (equivalent to pre-implantation epiblast) and primed pluripotency (equivalent to late post-implantation epiblast). We examine these recent findings in light of our knowledge of peri-implantation mouse and human development, and we consider the implications of this work for deriving human embryo models from pluripotent cells.
Recent studies of cultured mouse and human PSCs have identified cells representing an intermediate stage between naive and primed pluripotency. Pera and Rossant examine these recent findings in the context of current knowledge of peri-implantation development and consider their implications for deriving human embryo models from PSCs.
The pluripotent state in mouse and human Davidson, Kathryn C; Mason, Elizabeth A; Pera, Martin F
Development (Cambridge),
09/2015, Letnik:
142, Številka:
18
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In the mouse, naïve pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are thought to represent the cell culture equivalent of the late epiblast in the pre-implantation embryo, with which they share a unique defining set ...of features. Recent studies have focused on the identification and propagation of a similar cell state in human. Although the capture of an exact human equivalent of the mouse naïve PSC remains an elusive goal, comparative studies spurred on by this quest are lighting the path to a deeper understanding of pluripotent state regulation in early mammalian development.
Capturing Totipotent Stem Cells Baker, Christopher L.; Pera, Martin F.
Cell stem cell,
01/2018, Letnik:
22, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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Minority subpopulations within embryonic stem cell cultures display an expanded developmental potential similar to that of early embryo blastomeres or the early inner cell mass. The ability to ...isolate and culture totipotent cells capable of giving rise to the entire conceptus would enhance our capacity to study early embryo development, and might enable more efficient generation of chimeric animals for research and organ production for transplantation. Here we review the biological and molecular characterization of cultured cells with developmental potential similar to totipotent blastomeres, and assess recent progress toward the capture and stabilization of the totipotent state in vitro.
Baker and Pera review the biological and molecular characterization of cultured cells with developmental potential similar to totipotent blastomeres, and assess recent progress toward the capture and stabilization of the totipotent state in vitro.
In Search of Naivety Pera, Martin F.
Cell stem cell,
11/2014, Letnik:
15, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Devising a cell culture method that maintains human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) in a state similar to naive mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has been a much sought after goal in recent years. Here ...I consider the historical background to this quest and ask why it is considered consequential.
During early mammalian development, as the pluripotent cells that give rise to all of the tissues of the body proliferate and expand in number, they pass through transition states marked by a ...stepwise restriction in developmental potential and by changes in the expression of key regulatory genes. Recent findings show that cultured stem-cell lines derived from different stages of mouse development can mimic these transition states. They further reveal that there is a high degree of heterogeneity and plasticity in pluripotent populations in vitro and that these properties are modulated by extrinsic signalling. Understanding the extrinsic control of plasticity will guide efforts to use human pluripotent stem cells in research and therapy.
Pluripotent stem cells provide a powerful model for the study of human development and its disorders. Recent studies, including two in this issue of Stem Cell Reports, raise important questions ...concerning the developmental potential of human pluripotent stem cells, and how the behavior of these cells in vitro mirrors normal embryogenesis.
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