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Gonadal development and germ cell tumors in mouse and humans. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2015; 45:114-23. [DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2015.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Accepted: 10/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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López-Iglesias P, Alcaina Y, Tapia N, Sabour D, Arauzo-Bravo MJ, Sainz de la Maza D, Berra E, O'Mara AN, Nistal M, Ortega S, Donovan PJ, Schöler HR, De Miguel MP. Hypoxia induces pluripotency in primordial germ cells by HIF1α stabilization and Oct4 deregulation. Antioxid Redox Signal 2015; 22:205-23. [PMID: 25226357 DOI: 10.1089/ars.2014.5871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
AIMS To study the mechanisms of pluripotency induction, we compared gene expression in pluripotent embryonic germ cells (EGCs) and unipotent primordial germ cells (PGCs). RESULTS We found 11 genes ≥1.5-fold overexpressed in EGCs. None of the genes identified was the Yamanaka genes but instead related to glycolytic metabolism. The prospect of pluripotency induction by cell metabolism manipulation was investigated by hypoxic culturing. Hypoxia induced a glycolytic program in PGCs in detriment of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. We demonstrate that hypoxia alone induces reprogramming in PGCs, giving rise to hypoxia-induced EGC-like cells (hiEGLs), which differentiate into cells of the three germ layers in vitro and contribute to the internal cell mass of the blastocyst in vivo, demonstrating pluripotency. The mechanism of hypoxia induction involves HIF1α stabilization and Oct4 deregulation. However, hiEGL cannot be passaged long term. Self-renewal capacity is not achieved by hypoxia likely due to the lack of upregulation of c-Myc and Klf4. Gene expression analysis of hypoxia signaling suggests that hiEGLs have not reached the stabilization phase of cell reprogramming. INNOVATION AND CONCLUSION Our data suggest that the two main properties of stemness, pluripotency and self-renewal, are differentially regulated in PGC reprogramming induced by hypoxia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar López-Iglesias
- 1 Cell Engineering Laboratory, IdiPaz, La Paz Hospital Research Institute , Madrid Spain
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Heaney JD, Michelson MV, Youngren KK, Lam MYJ, Nadeau JH. Deletion of eIF2beta suppresses testicular cancer incidence and causes recessive lethality in agouti-yellow mice. Hum Mol Genet 2009; 18:1395-404. [PMID: 19168544 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddp045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The agouti-yellow (A(y)) deletion is the only genetic modifier known to suppress testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) susceptibility in mice or humans. The A(y) mutation deletes Raly and Eif2s2, and induces the ectopic expression of agouti, all of which are potential TGCT-modifying mutations. Here we report that the reduced TGCT incidence of heterozygous A(y) males and the recessive embryonic lethality of A(y) are caused by the deletion of Eif2s2, the beta subunit of translation initiation factor eIF2. We found that the incidence of affected males was reduced 2-fold in mice that were partially deficient for Eif2s2 and that embryonic lethality occurred near the time of implantation in mice that were fully deficient for Eif2s2. In contrast, neither reduced expression of Raly in gene-trap mice nor ectopic expression of agouti in transgenic or viable-yellow (A(vy)) mutants affected TGCT incidence or embryonic viability. In addition, we provide evidence that partial deficiency of Eif2s2 attenuated germ cell proliferation and differentiation, both of which are important to TGCT formation. These results show that germ cell development and TGCT pathogenesis are sensitive to the availability of the eIF2 translation initiation complex and to changes in the rate of translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason D Heaney
- Department of Genetics, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44120, USA.
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4
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Pereda J, Zorn T, Soto-Suazo M. Migration of human and mouse primordial germ cells and colonization of the developing ovary: An ultrastructural and cytochemical study. Microsc Res Tech 2006; 69:386-95. [PMID: 16718662 DOI: 10.1002/jemt.20298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
This review is an account of the origin and migratory events of primordial germ cells until their settlement in the gonad before sexual differentiation in the human as well as mice. In this context, the morphodynamic characteristics of the migration of the primordial germ cells, the macromolecular characteristics of the extracellular matrix of the migratory pathway, and the factors involved in the germ cell guidance have been analyzed and discussed in the light of recent advances in this field, by means of immunocytochemical procedures. The events prior to gonadal morphogenesis and the origin of the somatic cell content of the human gonadal primordium have been also analyzed. In particular, evidences are presented showing that cells derived from the coelomic epithelium and mesenchyme are at the origin of the somatic components of the gonadal primordium, and that a mesonephric cell contribution to the generation of somatic cell components of the genital ridge in humans should be discarded due to the morphological stability of the different nephric structures during the period preceding the sexual differentiation of the gonad.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Pereda
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Santiago of Chile, Chile.
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Sommerer F, Hengge UR, Markwarth A, Vomschloss S, Stolzenburg JU, Wittekind C, Tannapfel A. Mutations of BRAF and RAS are rare events in germ cell tumours. Int J Cancer 2005; 113:329-35. [PMID: 15386408 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.20567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The BRAF gene, one of the human isoforms of RAF, is activated by oncogenic Ras, leading to cooperative effects in cells responding to growth factor signals. Recently, somatic missense mutations in the BRAF gene have been detected in a variety of human tumors. We have studied male germ cell tumours (GCT) for probable mutations of the BRAF and Ras oncogene. Microsatellite instability (MSI) was analysed using mono- or di-nucleotide marker. Mutational analysis of 62 GCT (30 seminomas and 32 nonseminomas) was performed after microdissection of the different tumour components. The expression of Erk1/2, an important downstream point of convergence in the Ras-RAF-MEK-Erk pathway was assessed immunohistochemically. Activating BRAF missense mutations were identified in 3 out of 32 cases of nonseminomas (9%) but not in seminomas. The mutations were 1796T>A mutations and were found within the embryonic carcinoma component of these tumors. Two out of 30 seminomas (7%) and 3 out of 32 nonseminomas (9%) exhibited KRAS gene mutations. MSI was observed in 4 out 62 tumours (7%) [1 seminoma and 3 nonseminomas (embryonal carcinoma)]. All of the microsatellite instable embryonal carcinomas had a mutated BRAF gene. All 5 GCT with RAS mutations had an intact BRAF gene. We identified constitutively activated Erk in almost all tumours tested. Our data indicate that BRAF gene mutations are a rare event in GCT and are independent of KRAS mutations. In embryonal carcinomas, BRAF mutations may be linked to the proficiency of these tumours in repairing mismatched bases in DNA. The finding of activated Erk suggests a causative role for MAPK activation in GCT independent of activating BRAF or RAS mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Sommerer
- Institute of Pathology, University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 26, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Lam MYJ, Youngren KK, Nadeau JH. Enhancers and suppressors of testicular cancer susceptibility in single- and double-mutant mice. Genetics 2004; 166:925-33. [PMID: 15020477 PMCID: PMC1470739 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.166.2.925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Susceptibility to spontaneous testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), a common cancer affecting young men, shows unusual genetic complexity. Despite remarkable progress in the genetics analysis of susceptibility to many cancers, TGCT susceptibility genes have not yet been identified. Various mutations that are inherited as Mendelian traits in laboratory mice affect susceptibility to spontaneous TGCTs on the 129/Sv inbred genetic background. We compared the frequency of spontaneous TGCTs in single- and double-mutant mice to identify combinations that show evidence of enhancer or suppressor effects. The lower-than-expected TGCT frequencies in mice with partial deficiencies of TRP53 and MGF-SLJ and in 129.MOLF-Chr19 (M19) consomic mice that were heterozygous for the A(y) mutation suggest that either these genes complement each other to restore normal functionality in TGCT stem cells or together these genes activate mechanisms that suppress incipient TGCTs. By contrast, the higher-than-expected TGCT frequencies in Mgf(Sl-J)-M19 compound heterozygous mice suggest that these mutations exacerbate each other's effects. Together, these results provide clues to the genetic and molecular basis for susceptibility to TGCTs in mice and perhaps in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Man-Yee Josephine Lam
- Department of Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center and Center for Computational Genomics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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Lam MYJ, Youngren KK, Nadeau JH. Enhancers and Suppressors of Testicular Cancer Susceptibility in Single- and Double-Mutant Mice. Genetics 2004. [DOI: 10.1093/genetics/166.2.925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Susceptibility to spontaneous testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), a common cancer affecting young men, shows unusual genetic complexity. Despite remarkable progress in the genetics analysis of susceptibility to many cancers, TGCT susceptibility genes have not yet been identified. Various mutations that are inherited as Mendelian traits in laboratory mice affect susceptibility to spontaneous TGCTs on the 129/Sv inbred genetic background. We compared the frequency of spontaneous TGCTs in single- and double-mutant mice to identify combinations that show evidence of enhancer or suppressor effects. The lower-than-expected TGCT frequencies in mice with partial deficiencies of TRP53 and MGF-SLJ and in 129.MOLF-Chr19 (M19) consomic mice that were heterozygous for the Ay mutation suggest that either these genes complement each other to restore normal functionality in TGCT stem cells or together these genes activate mechanisms that suppress incipient TGCTs. By contrast, the higher-than-expected TGCT frequencies in Mgf Sl-J-M19 compound heterozygous mice suggest that these mutations exacerbate each other’s effects. Together, these results provide clues to the genetic and molecular basis for susceptibility to TGCTs in mice and perhaps in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Man-Yee Josephine Lam
- Department of Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center and Center for Computational Genomics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Kirsten K Youngren
- Department of Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center and Center for Computational Genomics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
| | - Joseph H Nadeau
- Department of Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center and Center for Computational Genomics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
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Lam MYJ, Nadeau JH. Genetic control of susceptibility to spontaneous testicular germ cell tumors in mice. APMIS 2003; 111:184-90; discussion 191. [PMID: 12752260 DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0463.2003.11101221.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) are the most common cancer affecting young men. TGCT is a polygenic trait and genes that control susceptibility for TGCT development have not yet been identified. The 129/Sv inbred strain of mice is an important experimental model to study the genetics and development of TGCTs. We review several novel approaches that were developed to study the susceptibility of TGCTs in the 129/Sv mouse model and its application in humans. These approaches showed that several spontaneous and engineered mutations interact with 129/Sv-derived susceptibility genes to enhance or suppress susceptibility; two of these mutations (Ter and Trp53) revealed novel linkages for susceptibility genes in sensitized polygenic trait analysis. Linkage analysis with a chromosome substitution strains suggests that as many as 100 genes control susceptibility. Bilateral TGCTs result from the coincidental occurrence of unilateral tumors. These results highlight the important contributions that this mouse model can make to studies of TGCT susceptibility in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Man-Yee Josephine Lam
- Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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Houldsworth J. Genetics and biology of male germ cell tumors. CHEST SURGERY CLINICS OF NORTH AMERICA 2002; 12:629-43. [PMID: 12471867 DOI: 10.1016/s1052-3359(02)00027-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The application of cytogenetic and molecular genetic techniques to the study of germ cell tumors has yielded many clues to the etiology and chemosensitivity of these tumors. With the advent of expression profiling and genome-scanning technologies, it may be possible to identify molecular markers of germ cell tumor outcome and molecular networks important in human development and chemotherapeutic response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane Houldsworth
- Cell Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Box 391, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
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Bernhoft A, Behrens GH, Ingebrigtsen K, Langseth W, Berndt S, Haugen TB, Grotmol T. Placental transfer of the estrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone in rats. Reprod Toxicol 2001; 15:545-50. [PMID: 11780962 DOI: 10.1016/s0890-6238(01)00159-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
In order to study the possible placental transfer of the Fusarium mycotoxin zearalenone (ZON), Sprague Dawley rats were treated with a single dose (0.74 mg/kg b.w.) of ZON i.v. on day 12 or day 18 of pregnancy, or intragastrically (i.g.) on day 18 of pregnancy. Samples of placenta, foetus, and maternal liver and spleen were collected for chemical analyses 0.3 h after treatment on day 12, and 0.3, 4, and 24 h after treatment on day 18. Three rats were used for each pregnancy day, administration route, and exposure time. The concentrations of ZON and its metabolites alpha- and beta-zearalenol (-ZOL) were determined quantitatively by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after incubation with beta-glucuronidase and purification on immunoaffinity columns. Tissue distribution was studied by means of whole body autoradiography at 4 and 24 h after treatment with tritiated ZON (750 microCi/kg b.w; 7.4 mg/kg b.w.) on day 18 of pregnancy. ZON and alpha-ZOL were transferred into the foetus on both gestational days. However, a delay in distribution into the foetus, relative to the maternal tissue, was observed. Beta-ZOL was below the detection limit in the foetus. No specific site of foetal accumulation of ZON or its metabolites was apparent. In the maternal tissues, the highest levels of ZON and of alpha- and beta-ZOL were found in the liver.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Bernhoft
- Department of Food and Feed Hygiene, National Veterinary Institute, Oslo, Norway.
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Anderson O, Heasman J, Wylie C. Early events in the mammalian germ line. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CYTOLOGY 2001; 203:215-30. [PMID: 11131517 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7696(01)03008-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Germ cells represent the genetic and cellular link between generations, as well as the transmitters of inherited diseases. Despite their central importance, not much is known about the molecular mechanisms whereby a germ cell lineage becomes set aside during development, or how the germ cells, once formed, migrate to the gonads and combine with somatic cells to make a gonad. This article provides a brief review of current knowledge on these issues, with particular focus on the mammalian germ line.
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Affiliation(s)
- O Anderson
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis 55455, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- C Wylie
- Department of Pediatrics, Developmental Genetics Center, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis 55455, USA
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McLachlan JA, Newbold RR, Li S, Negishi M. Are estrogens carcinogenic during development of the testes? APMIS 1998; 106:240-2; discussion 243-4. [PMID: 9524585 DOI: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1998.tb01342.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Many chemicals in the environment mimic the female sex hormone, estrogen. Exposure to environmental estrogens during early fetal development was proposed by Sharpe & Skakkebaek as a potential risk factor for subsequent testicular disease, including neoplasia and poor semen quality. To understand the mechanisms of action of estrogenic chemicals during differentiation of the male genital tract, we have studied developmental exposure to the synthetic estrogen, diethylstilboestrol (DES). While DES is a much more potent estrogen than most environmental chemicals examined, several of these compounds share some of the same properties as DES, such as a relative lack of binding to serum estrogen carrying proteins. Prenatal exposure to DES is associated with poor semen quality, prostatic disease, cryptorchidism and testicular neoplasia in mice. A rare form of testicular cancer, rete testis carcinoma, was observed in five percent of male mice treated in utero with DES. We also demonstrated altered regulation of an estrogen responsive gene, lactotransferrin (LTF) in the seminal vesicles of treated mice, but not the controls. Likewise, LTF was irreversibly altered in the uteri of developmentally treated females; at the molecular level altered methylation of the gene appears to be involved, thus, providing a potential marker for hormonal effects during development. The induction of permanent or "imprinted" responses during the development of a relatively estrogen-free reproductive tract cell suggests that undifferentiated targets for estrogen action may be sites for subsequent growth and differentiation defects associated with neoplasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A McLachlan
- Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699, USA
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KRETSER DAVIDM, DAMJANOV IVAN. The 4th Copenhagen Workshop on Carcinomain situand Cancer of the Testis: Concluding remarks. APMIS 1998. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1998.tb01345.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Abstract
Participants at the 4th Copenhagen Workshop on Carcinoma in situ and Cancer of the Testis, representing cell biologists and tumour biologists, met together to discuss the similarities and differences between primordial germ cells (PGCs) of the embryo, and the carcinoma in situ (CIS) stem cell of human testicular germ cell tumours (GCTs). Much has been discovered about PGCs in the last 10 years and we still do not know the exact nature of CIS cells. Knowledge of PGCs comes mainly from mouse experiments and knowledge of CIS comes from the study of human tumours. A mouse model of human GCT would help to investigate the nature of CIS cells. Grafting mouse male genital ridges into mouse fetal testes results in the development of testicular tissue and the formation of teratomatous tumour components. Amplification of PGCs in culture is possible but this results in their transformation into embryonic germ (EG) cells. CIS cells die by apoptosis if they are isolated, and short-term culture is only possible if the CIS cells are cultured in their normal environment within seminiferous tubules. It may be possible for CIS cells to differentiate in culture although they cannot be maintained in culture as isolated cells. Human CIS cells are likely to be formed as a result of in utero factors rather than agents acting on normal adult testicular germ cells. EG cells stimulate feeder cells by paracrine factors but it is not known if these cells produce autocrine factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- K M Grigor
- Department of Pathology, University of Edinburgh, UK
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Anderson R, Garcia-Castro M, Heasman J, Wylie C. Early stages in male germ cell differentiation in the mouse. Review article. APMIS 1998; 106:127-32; discussion 132-3. [PMID: 9524570 DOI: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1998.tb01327.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Primordial germ cells arise during gastrulation and migrate from the hindgut into the gonad primordium during early organogenesis. In this article, we discuss factors that control migration, proliferation and targeting of the PGCs. In particular we discuss how changes in adhesiveness control germ cell positioning in the gonad, and the molecules involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Anderson
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroanatomy, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis 55455, USA
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