Objective(s):Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from Wharton’s jelly (WJ-MSCs) are now much more appealing for cell-based infertility therapy. Hence, WJ-MSCs differentiation toward germ layer cells for cell therapy purposes is currently under intensive study. Materials and Methods: MSCs were isolated from human Wharton’s jelly and treated with BMP4, retinoic acid (RA) or co-cultured on huma...

We have analyzed the viability of different types of X chromosomes in homozygous clones of female germ cells. The chromosomes carried viable mutations, single-cistron zygotic-lethal and semi-lethal mutations, or small (about six chromosome band) deletions. Homozygous germ-line clones were produced by recombination in females heterozygous for an X-linked, dominant, agametic female sterile.All th...

Although the zebrafish possesses many characteristics that make it a valuable model for genetic studies of vertebrate development, one deficiency of this model system is the absence of methods for cell-mediated gene transfer and targeted gene inactivation. In mice, embryonic stem cell cultures are routinely used for gene transfer and provide the advantage of in vitro selection for rare events s...

Previous studies have suggested that murine T cells are tolerant to epitopes derived from germ line variable regions of immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy (VH) or light chains. This has lead to the prediction that germ line VH-region epitopes found in neoplastic B cells cannot be used to provoke an antitumor immune response. To test these assumptions and address the question of how such a vaccine may al...

In soma and germ cells of Drosophila, the X:A ratio builds a primary signal for sex determination, and in both tissues Sex-lethal (Sxl) function is required for cells to enter the female pathway. In somatic cells of XX animals, the products of X-chromosomal elements of the X:A ratio activate Sxl. Here I show that sisterless-b (sis-b), which is the X-chromosomal element of the somatic X:A ratio ...

The mechanisms regulating germ line sex determination and meiosis initiation are poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence for the involvement of homeobox Msx transcription factors in foetal meiosis initiation in mammalian germ cells. Upon meiosis initiation, Msx1 and Msx2 genes are strongly expressed in the foetal ovary, possibly stimulated by soluble factors found there: bone morphogenetic...

In wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans, the XO male germ line makes only sperm and the XX hermaphrodite germ line makes sperm and then oocytes. In contrast, the germ line of either a male or a hermaphrodite carrying a mutation of the fog-1 (feminization of the germ line) locus is sexually transformed: cells that would normally make sperm differentiate as oocytes. However, the somatic tissues of fo...

Cells originating from the germ cell lineage retain the remarkable property under special culture conditions to give rise to cells with embryonic stem cell (ESC) properties, such as the multipotent adult germline stem cells (maGSCs) derived from adult mouse testis. To get an insight into the mechanisms that control pluripotency and differentiation in these cells, we studied how differences obse...