A phenotypic analysis of the lympho-hemopoietic cells which occur in the liver of 13-day-old fetal rats was achieved by flow cytometry in an attempt to further characterize the rat lymphoid progenitor cells. A small fraction of rat 13-day-old fetal liver (r13FL) cells, which weakly expressed the leukocyte common antigen CD45, constituted a homogeneous Thy-1(hi), CD71(-), CD44(+), MHC class I+, ...

Hepatoblasts are common progenitors for hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells, although their nature remains largely unknown. In order to isolate and to characterize hepatoblasts, we searched for cell surface antigens expressed in mouse fetal hepatic cells by the signal sequence trap method and found that Dlk, also known as Pref-1, was strongly expressed in fetal liver. Immunohistochemical a...

Since 1928, human fetal tissues and stem cells have been used worldwide to treat various conditions. Although the transplantation of the fetal midbrain substantia nigra and dopaminergic neurons in patients suffering from Parkinson's disease is particularly noteworthy, the history of other types of grafts, such as those of the fetal liver, thymus, and pancreas, should be addressed as there are m...

The Pax5 gene coding for the transcription factor BSAP has an essential role in B lymphopoiesis and midbrain development. Here we present a detailed analysis of the B-cell phenotype of Pax5 mutant mice that revealed a differential dependency of fetal and adult B lymphopoiesis on this transcriptional regulator. B-cell development is arrested in the bone marrow at the early pro-B (pre-BI) cell st...

The mCAT-1 gene encodes a basic amino acid transporter that also acts as the receptor for murine ecotropic leukemia viruses. Targeted mutagenesis in embryonic stem cells has been used to introduce a germ-line null mutation into this gene. This mutation removes a domain critical for virus binding and inactivates amino acid transport activity. Homozygous mutant pups generated from these cells wer...

A spheroid array of fetal mouse liver cells, which comprise various immature cells, was constructed on a PEG-gel micropatterned surface and its hepatic activity and degree of differentiation induction were significantly upregulated by co-culture with nonparenchymal liver cells as feeder-cells.

The ease of tolerance induction in B lymphocytes from fetal, neonatal, and adult mice was studied in vivo, in a cell transfer system, and in vitro. Three different tolerogens were used: ultracentrifuged BGG, DNP(6)-D-GL, and ultracentrifuged DNP(22)-BGG. Irradiated thymectomized mice were reconstituted with B cells from fetal or neonatal liver or adult spleen or bone marrow. The mice were injec...

In this study we investigated erythropoiesis and fetal liver protein secretion during late embryonic (Day 24 and Day 30) and early fetal (Day 40) development in pigs from domestic white crossbred (WC) gilts with a normal (intact; INT) or crowded (unilateral hysterectomized/ovariectomized; UHO) uterine environment, or from prolific Chinese Meishan (MS) gilts. Increased fetal weight, fetal liver ...

Tie-2 receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in endothelial and hematopoietic cells is believed to play a role in both angiogenesis and hematopoiesis during development of the mouse embryo. This article addressed whether Tie-2 is expressed on fetal liver hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) at day 14 of gestation. With the use of anti-Tie-2 monoclonal antibody, its expression was detected in approximate...