In this study we show that mouse primordial germ cells and fetal germ cells at certain stages of differentiation express E-cadherin and alpha and beta catenins. Moreover, we demonstrate that the formation of germ cell aggregates that rapidly occurs when monodispersed germ cell populations are released from embryonic gonads in culture is E-cadherin mediated, developmentally regulated, and depend...

research about potential use of stem cells for the development of germ line cells in vitro had been challenged. in the present study, we reported a novel protocol consisting of cocktail growth factor addition for germ cell differentiation followed by transfection. the cells were purificated based on the expression on the cell surface of a protein. this protein is not present in normal cells of ...

Maintenance and maturation of primordial germ cells is controlled by complex genetic and epigenetic cascades, and disturbances in this network lead to either infertility or malignant aberration. Transcription factor TFAP2C has been described to be essential for primordial germ cell maintenance and to be upregulated in several human germ cell cancers. Using global gene expression profiling, we i...

Primordial germ cells are the progenitor cells that give rise to the gametes. In some animals, the germline is induced by zygotic transcription factors, whereas in others, primordial germ cell specification occurs via inheritance of maternally provided gene products known as germ plasm. Once specified, the primordial germ cells of some animals must acquire motility and migrate to the gonad in o...

Primordial germ cell development uses programmed cell death to remove abnormal, misplaced or excess cells. Precise control of this process is essential to maintain the continuity and integrity of the germline, and to prevent germ cells from colonizing locations other than the gonads. Through careful analyses of primordial germ cell distribution in developing Drosophila melanogaster embryos, we ...

In mice, primordial germ cells migrate into the genital ridges by embryonic day 13.5 (E13.5), where they are then subjected to a sex-specific fate with female and male primordial germ cells undergoing mitotic arrest and meiosis, respectively. However, the sex-specific basis of primordial germ cell differentiation is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the sex-specific fe...

The derivation of germ-line competent avian primordial germ cells establishes a cell-based model system for the investigation of germ cell differentiation and the production of genetically modified animals. Current methods to modify primordial germ cells using DNA or retroviral vectors are inefficient and prone to epigenetic silencing. Here, we validate the use of transposable elements for the ...