Skip Navigation



Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on January 17, 2008
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/dem411
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
23/3/589    most recent
dem411v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kerr, C. L.
Right arrow Articles by Gearhart, J. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kerr, C. L.
Right arrow Articles by Gearhart, J. D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Expression of pluripotent stem cell markers in the human fetal ovary

Candace L. Kerr1,3, Christine M. Hill1, Paul D. Blumenthal2 and John D. Gearhart1

1 Institute for Cellular Engineering, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Broadway Research Building Suite 771, 733 N. Broadway, MD 21205, USA 2 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA

3 Correspondence address. Tel: +1-410-614-3444; Fax: +1-410-955-7427; E-mail: ckerr{at}jhmi.edu

BACKGROUND: Human primordial germ cells (PGCs) can give rise to pluripotent stem cells such as embryonal carcinoma cells (ECCs) and embryonic germ cells (EGCs).

METHODS: In order to determine whether PGCs express markers associated with pluripotency in EGCs and ECCs, the following study cross examines the expression patterns of multiple pluripotent markers in the human fetal ovary, 5.5–15 weeks post-fertilizaton (pF) and relates this expression with the ability to derive pluripotent EGCs in vitro.

RESULTS: Specific subpopulations were identified which included OCT4+/Nanog+/cKIT+/VASA+ PGCs and oogonia. Interestingly, these cells also expressed SSEA1 and alkaline phosphatase (AP) and SSEA4 expression occurred throughout the entire gonad. Isolation of SSEA1+ cells from the gonad resulted in AP+ EGC colony formation. The number of OCT4+ or Nanog+ expressing cells peaked by week 8 and then diminished after week 9 pF, as oogonia enter meiosis. In addition, the efficiency of EGC derivation was associated with the number of OCT4+ cells. TRA-1-60 and TRA-1-81 were only detected in the lining of the mesonephric ducts and occasionally in the gonad.

CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that PGCs, a unipotent cell, express most, but not all, of the markers associated with pluripotent cells in the human fetal ovary.

Key words: human/fetal/ovary/embryonic germ cells/primordial germ cells

Submitted on August 1, 2007; resubmitted on October 31, 2007; accepted on December 5, 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Mol Hum ReprodHome page
C. Tingen, A. Kim, and T. K. Woodruff
The primordial pool of follicles and nest breakdown in mammalian ovaries
Mol. Hum. Reprod., December 1, 2009; 15(12): 795 - 803.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum Mol GenetHome page
C. R. Nicholas, K. M. Haston, A. K. Grewall, T. A. Longacre, and R. A. Reijo Pera
Transplantation directs oocyte maturation from embryonic stem cells and provides a therapeutic strategy for female infertility
Hum. Mol. Genet., November 15, 2009; 18(22): 4376 - 4389.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.