PURPOSE To determine the chronology of the appearance and localization of hyaluronic acid (HA) in mouse vitreous during the embryonic and early postnatal stages of development and in human vitreous during early embryonic development. METHODS A histochemical method using the specific affinity for HA of a bovine cartilage proteoglycan was used on mouse eyes at embryonic (11 to 18 days) and earl...

Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) have been previously used as feeder cells to support the growth of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). In this study, human adult uterine endometrial cells (hUECs), human adult breast parenchymal cells (hBPCs) and embryonic fibroblasts (hEFs) were tested as feeder cells for supporting the growth of hESCs to prevent the possibility of contamination from animal ...

Genetic modification is continuing to be an essential tool in studying stem cell biology and in setting forth potential clinical applications of human embryonic stem cells (HESCs). While improvements in several gene delivery methods have been described, transfection remains a capricious process for HESCs, and has not yet been reported in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). In this vid...

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can exit the self-renewal programme, through the action of signalling molecules, at any given time and differentiate along the three germ layer lineages. We have systematically investigated the specific roles of three signalling pathways, TGFβ/SMAD2, BMP/SMAD1, and FGF/ERK, in promoting the transition of hESCs into the neuroectoderm lineage. In this context, i...

The efficient generation of hepatocytes from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) requires the induction of a proper endoderm population, broadly characterized by the expression of the cell surface marker CXCR4. Strategies to identify and isolate endoderm subpopulations predisposed to the liver fate do not exist. In this study, we generated mouse monoclonal antibodies against human embryonic st...

Background: Origin of midlife copy number variations (CNVs) between tissues in non-genetic diseases is unknown. Such genomic differences caused by post-zygotic events. They might either happen during the life or due to prevalent mosaicism in preimplantation stage. We aim to explore fetal mosaicism and its origins. Materials and Methods: Two apparently normal fetuses were achieved following the ...

Recent decades were characterized by genetic selection of broiler and layer chickens for enhanced growth rate and meat yield or intensified egg production, respectively. It is to be expected that genetic selection for various traits would also influence embryo development and growth patterns that affect metabolism. The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of broiler (Cobb a...