Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 3
Making Germ Cells from Human
Embryonic Stem Cells
Sonya M. Schuh-Huerta and Renee A. Reijo Pera
Abstract
Human embryonic stem cells are proliferating, self-renewing cells that
have the great potential of differentiating into diverse cell types
in vivo
and
in vitro
.
Investigations on human embryonic stem cells have allowed us to probe critical
early stages of development, including the mechanisms of pluripotency, lineage
specification, the formation and differentiation of specific cell and tissue types, and
the underlying molecular and genetic mechanisms. In addition to the three main tis-
sue lineages, embryonic stem cells can also give rise to the germ cell lineage, which
produces the male or female gametes. With the difficulties of studying early human
germ cell development
in vivo
, stem cells can provide a unique model and window
into human germ cell differentiation. Further, as infertility is quite common in
humans, most often due to defects in sperm and egg quantity or quality, embryonic
stem cells and the recently discovered induced pluripotent stem cells might one
day provide clinical applications for the treatment of infertility and reproductive
disorders. Thus, stem cells have the great potential to revolutionize regenerative and
reproductive medicine and numerous cutting-edge investigations and techniques
are underway. This chapter summarizes our current understanding of the earliest
events of human germ cell formation and gamete differentiation both
in vivo
and
in vitro
and the genetic requirements of this process as resolved from both human
and animal studies. We also review the current literature on the formation of germ
cells from embryonic stem cells and, finally, discuss needed future improvements
and clinical implications of this work.
S.M. Schuh-Huerta (
*
)
Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine,
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and
Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Education, Stanford University
School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
e-mail: sonyas1@stanford.edu
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