Table of contents :

Timing :

• Kern plasma relation theory : the theory that for each cell there exists a definite size relation of nuclear mass to cell mass. The question of whether cells need an active size-sensing mechanism or whether they stochastically revert back to a mean size after several divisions following either chemical or signaling perturbation has been debated for about 40 years. A size threshold adjusts cell cycle length in the next cycle to ensure maintenance of a proper balance between growth and proliferation rates in various vertebrate cell types including human, mouse, and chicken erythroblasts and fibroblasts in vitro^ref : concept had been demonstrated previously in yeast^{ref1, ref2}. There is a 'sizer' and 'timer' in animal cells. The main question was what happens in vivo, where cells are growing with abundant nutrients and an array of different growth and mitogenic factors together with cell adhesion effects
• interphase / resting or vegetative phase or stage : the stage of a cell or its nucleus when no mitotic changes are going on; the interval between two successive cell divisions, during which the chromosomes are not individually distinguishable and the normal physiological processes proceed
• G₀ : MKI67 / antigen Ki-67 identified by monoclonal antibody (MIB-1) protein is a proliferation antigen, which is present in G₁, S, G₂ and M phases of the cell cycle. Quiescent or resting cells in the G₀ phase of the cell cycle do not express the Ki-67 antigen.
• G₁ (for gap 1) or pre-synthethic phase
• S (for synthesis) phase. Each chromosome is copied to generate 2 identical sister chromatids and cohesion is established between them. Cohesion is thought to be mediated both by DNA connections (topological concatenations) that are generated during DNA replication and by a proteinaceous linkage (probably the cohesin complex) that hold sister chromatids together until anaphase. Cohesin is a 4-member protein complex that is required to hold together the sister chromatids of newly replicated chromosomes. Cohesin contains a heterodimer of the SMC proteins SMC1 and SMC3, which is associated with the non-SMC proteins SCC1 and SCC3. Cohesin proteins were identified by 2 Saccharomyces cerevisiae laboratories in genetic screens that were designed to identify the glue that is required for sister-chromatid attachemtn. Both screens correctly presumed that mutational disruption of the glue would cause precocious sister-chromatid sepration in metaphase arrested cells. Cytological proof of sister-chromatid separation defects relied on clever approaches to mark a single locus on each sister chromatid. Similar proteins have now been identified as members of a cohesin complex in several organisms. Cohesin has the cell-cycle-dependent chromatin-localization patern that would be predicted for a cohesion factor. In yeast, cohesin loads onto chromatids at replication, and remains boud until its abrupt dissociation at anaphase, when cohesion must be released. In higher organisms, the bulk of cohesin dissociates at prophase, although a smaller amount persists at centromeres and dissociates at anaphase. This prophase release of cohesin is necessary for sister-chromatid resolution. If cohesin is not removed during anaphase, sister chromatids fail to separate. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence experiments show cohesin along chromsome arms and concentrated at the centromere, which is a site of tight cohesion, as would be expected for a complex that connects sister chromatids. The localized pattern of cohesin during meiosis reveals the most about its role in cohesion. During meiosis I when homologues are paired, cohesin localizes along chromosome arms, but when sister chromatids are paired during meiosis II, cohesin is only found between centromeres. Most organisms contain a meiosis-specific cohesin complex, with a meiosis-specific SCC1 variant called REC8 in place of SCC1. Meiotic chromatids that lack REC8 canot maintain cohesion. Reciprocally, meiotic chromatids on which cohesin inappropriately persists cannot lose cohesion and fail to separate at meiosis I and meiosis II. Dissociation of cohesin at anaphase is triggered by the proteolytic cleavage of its SCC1 or REC8 subunit by a protease called separase. Cleavage of SCC1 is necessary for sistert chromatid separation, and is an irreversible entry into anaphase. Separase is inhibited by a protein called securin until the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) ubiquitylates and destroys securin. The APC, in turn, is unable to perform its role until the spindle checkpoint has been cleared. These and other mechanisms ensure that cohesin remains between sister chromatids until the cell is ready to entry anaphase. Light dictates the cell cycle in zebrafish by controlling entry into S-phase. Exposure of larvae to light-dark (LD) cycles causes a range of different cell types to enter S phase predominantly at the end of the day. When larvae are raised in constant darkness (DD), a low level of arrhythmic S phase is observed. In addition, light-entrained cell cycle rhythms persist for several days after transfer to DD, both observations pointing to the involvement of the circadian clock The number of LD cycles experienced is essential for establishing this rhythm during larval development^ref.
• G₂ (for gap 2) or post-synthethic phase
• karyostasis : the so-called resting stage of the nucleus between mitotic divisions.
• M (for mitosis) or D (for division) phase
• mitosis / equational division : a method of indirect division of a cell, consisting of a complex of various processes, by means of which the 2 daughter nuclei normally receive identical complements of the number of chromosomes characteristic of the somatic cells of the species : in centriola-less Protozoa and Fungi it occurs within the nucleus. NOTE: The term mitosis is used interchangeably with cell division, but strictly speaking it refers to nuclear division, whereas cytokinesis refers to division of the cytoplasm. In some cells, as in many fungi and the fertilized eggs of many insects, nuclear division occurs within the cell unaccompanied by division of the cytoplasm and formation of daughter cells.
• karyokinesis : the phenomena involved in division of the nucleus, usually an early stage in the process of cell division, or mitosis.
• asymmetrical karyokinesis : mitosis in which the chromosomes divide unequally and into dissimilar masses.
• hyperchromatic karyokinesis : mitosis in which the number of chromosomes is abnormally large.
• hypochromatic karyokinesis : mitosis in which the number of chromosomes is abnormally small.
• karyomitosis : division of the nucleus of a cell preceding mitosis.
It is the process by which the body grows and replaces cells and is divided into 4 phases:
• prophase :
• formation of paired chromosomes : after replication and cohesin loading, chromosomes are in an extended configuration and appear as amorphous mass in the nucleus. As cells enter prophase, chromosomes begin the process of condensation, undergoing a marked change in structure that continues until they are fully compacted at metaphase. During prophase condensation, the sister chromatids begin to dissociate along their arms and organize along their individual axes - a process that is called resolution. In many organisms this can be viewed cytologically as the transition from indistibguishable chromosomes to 2 rod-shaped arms that are attached at the centromere. Condensin is a 5-member protein complex that is required for chromosome organization and segregation. It contains a heterodimer of SMC proteins (SMC2 and SMC4) and 3 associated non-SMC proteins (CAP-D2, CAP-G and CAP-H). In most organisms, condensin only associates with chromosomes at times of the cell cycle when they are condensed (prophase to anaphase). Our understanding of condensin comes from both biochemical and genetic studies. The bacterial condensin MukBEF compacts DNA into a repetitive, stable structure^ref. Chicken SCII, later determined to be SMC2, was identified as one of the proteins that remained after chrosomes were stripped down to an insoluble "chromosome scaffold", on which looped chromatin domains are thought to be organized. The complete known complex, containing CAP-E (SMC2), CAP-C (SMC4), CAP-D2, CAP-G and CAP-H, was identified by a sedimentation method for purifying Xenopus mitotic chromosome associated proteins (CAPs) from egg extracts. CAP-D2 was also identified independently. The 5-member protein complex was named condensin because sperm chromosomes introduced into an egg extract that was depleted of any subunit formed a diffuse mass rather than a condensed structure. Genetic studies also uncovered condensin subunits. Mutations in Schizosacchromyces pombe cut3 (SMC2) and cut14 (SMC4) cause a cell untimely torn ("cut") phenotype when the division septum cuts through unsegregated chromosomes at the cell centre. These mutants were proposed to affect chromosome condensation rather than the separation of centromeres on sister chromatids, becaue the distrance between  2 fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) probes on a chromosome arm increased the mutants, but centromere probes separated normally. The 3 S.pombe non-SMC condensin subunits were later biochemically identified and shown to associate with the SMC proteins. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, condensin subunit mutations were created by a similar FISH assay to have defects in chromosome segregation and condensation. In Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans, condensin subunits were identified fortuitously in genetic screens for unrelated processes, and were later shown to affect mitotic chromosome morphology and segregation. Observations of chromosomes in theise condensin subunit mutants indicated that condensin might have an important role in resolving sister chromatids at prophase, but might not be the only metaphase condensation factor. Mutation of a Drosophila condensin subunit caused wider less-distinct prophase sister chromatids, yet these chromatids had shortened along their longitudinal axis by metaphase. Similarly, depletion of C.elegans condensin components caused wispy instead of rigid prophase chromosomes that nevertheless align into a relatively compact metaphase plate. A common and notable phenotype of condensin mutants in many organisms is the failure to completely separate connections between sister chromatids as they pull apart at anaphase during mitosis. A similar anaphase segregation defect has also been observed during meiosis II. Condensin binds to DNA and has ATPase activity. When incubated with relaxed circular DNA in the presence of a type I topoisomerase, condensin causes ATP-dependent positive supercoiling. In the presence of a type II topoisomerase, condensin converts nicked circular DNA into positive knots. These results led to the model that condensin introduces global writhe into the DNA, promoting condensation by stabilizing large positively supercoiled DNA loops. Conversely, cohesin catenates nicked circular DNA when incubated with topoisomerase II, and causes DNA-protein aggregates in gel-shift experiments. So, condensin, swhich compresses one sister into itself, has intramolecular activities, whereas cohesin, which adheres 2 different sister chromatids, has intermolecular activities. Electron microscopy (EM) shows that the arms of condensin are close together, where those of cohesin are spread apart in a "V" shape. These activities and structures support the model that condensin acts as an intramolecular crosslinker by grabbing sites on a single DNA strand and bringing them together, whereas cohesin acts as an intermolecular crosslinker by grabbing and holding 2 different sister chromatids. New microscopic views of cohesin and condensin have inspired a revised view of their mechanism of action. Atomic-force microscopy shows that the SMCs of condensin form a globular head onto which the non-SMCs assemble, and a coiled tail the end of which touches DNA. These results suggest a loop fastener model in which the condensin hinge binds one region of DNA, then non-SMC proteins mediate an ATP-dependent opening and closing of the SMC "V" to enclose a loop of DNA. Another study using electron spectroscopic imaging of condensin suggests an "orientated gyre" model rather than a "global writhe" model, because a single condensin molecule seems to introduce 2 stacked supercoils into closed plasmid DNA. On the basis of this finding, it has been proposed that an ATP-hydrolysis cycle changes the conformation of condensin and allws it to trap 2 orientated positive supercoils in its coiled-coil arms. A related "embrace model" has been proposed for cohesin. EM and interaction data indicate that SMC1 and SMC3 are linked at one end by hinge interactions and at the other by interaction with SCC1. Cohesin was, therefore, proposed to form a large loop that encircles both sister chromatids, fastened by SCC1 at one end. Whereas earlier models envisioned cohesin grabbing sister chromatids, this model indicates that the arms of cohesin might hold 2 sister chromatds in an "embrace" until proteolytic cleavage of SCC1 disrupts the cohesin loop.
• disappearance of nuclear membrane
• appearance of the achromatic spindle
• spindle fibers : the microtubules radiating from the centrioles during mitosis and forming a spindle-shaped configuration
• karyoplastin : the substance of a mitotic spindle; the parachromatin
• formation of polar or pole plates: platelike bodies at the end of the spindle in certain forms of mitosis)
• prometaphase generally begins with the disintegration of the nuclear membrane. When this has occurred, a more fluid zone is noted in the center of the cell, in which the chromosomes move freely and in apparent disorder, making their way toward the equator. A specialized chromosome region, the centromere, assembles a proteinaceous structure - the kinetochore - that mediates attachment to the microtubule spindle. Sister chromatids are arranged so that each centromere interacts with microtubules from only one pole, a phenomenon that is called bi-orientation

metaphase : chromosomes become fully condensed by metaphase. Condensation provides mechanical strength and reduces volume so that chromosomes can withstand spindle forces as they are pulled to opposite sides of the cell. At metaphse, the chromosomes are completely aligned at the centre of the cell, along what is called the metaphase plate. A spindle-checkpoint mechanism monitors chromosome-spindle attachment and delays anaphase until the chromosomes are attached and under tension^ref. Arrangement of chromosomes in the equatorial plane (equatorial plate : the platelike collection of chromosomes at the equator of the spindle in karyokinesis) of the central spindle to form the monaster. Chromosomes separate into exactly similar halves.
• anaphase : at anaphase, the sister chromatids separate in a coordinated burst of movement. Once the spindle is relieved, the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) triggers the proteolysis of target proteins and chromosome segregation follows^ref. One target of the APC is a protein called securin that prevents the protease separase from cleaving a cohesin subunit untile the commitment is made to anaphase. This mechanism ensures that the cohesin glue is not dissolved until the cell is ready for division^ref. The 2 groups of daughter chromosomes separate and move along the fibers of the central spindle, each toward one of the asters, forming the diaster.
• anaphase A
• anaphase B
• telophase : in telophase, the newly segregated chromosomes decondense themselves into a reticulum and the daughter nuclei are formed; susbsequently, cytokinesis divides the cytoplasm, forming 2 complete daughter cells
• dispireme : the stage of cell division which follows the diaster; so called because the cytoplasm is divided into 2 parts, in each of which the chromatin appears to assume the form of a coil

Kinases involved in the regulation of mitosis :
• Aurora kinases :
• aurora-A / serine/threonine kinase 6 (STK6) (spindle poles) : regulates centrosome maturation and spindle assembly
• aurora-B (kinetochore; midzone) : regulates chromosomal segregation, spindle orientation, essential for cytokinesis
• aurora-C (centrosomes) : unknown
• Polo kinases (PLK) :
• PLK1 (centrosomes; kinetochores) : regulates mitotic entry and exit, and cytokinesis
• PLK2 (kinetochores; mitotic spindle) : regulates mitotic entry and exit, and cytokinesis; downstream target of p53
• PLK3 (midbody; centrosome; mitotic spindle; Golgi) : regulates mitotic dynamics and centrosomal function; involved in DNA-damage stress response and Golgi dynamics
• cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) :
• CDK1 / CDC2 regulates mitotic entry and exit; associates with cyclin A and cyclin B
• cyclins
• cyclin A
• cyclin A1
• cyclin B
• cyclin C
• cyclin D
• cyclin D1 (CCND1) / B-cell lymphoma 1 (BCL1) / Prad1
• cyclin D2 (CCND2)
• cyclin D3 (CCND3)
Both triple knockout mutant mice lacking all 3 D-type cyclins—cyclin D1, D2, and D3^ref- and complementary deletions of cdk6 and cdk4 single and double mutants^ref develop normally until the later stages of gestation, after which they died due to severe anemia, among other abnormalities. These observations suggest that CDK6 is required for expansion of certain differentiated compartments, rather than for proliferation of early hematopoietic precursors. Previous evidence had shown a critical need for the D-type cyclins by proliferating cancer cells : for this reason, it was suggested that D-type cyclins might be a good target for therapeutic strategies in human cancer. The inhibitors p16, p21, and p27 are much lower in the Spanish double knockouts, but levels of p21 and p27 are unchanged in the Sicinski triple knockouts, suggesting contradictory results.
• cyclin E
• never in mitosis, gene A (NIMA) kinases :
• NIMA-related kinase (NEKs)
• NEK1
• NEK2 regulates centrosomal organization
• NEK3
• NEK4
• NEK5
• NEK6
• NEK7
• NEK8
• NEK9
• NEK10
• NEK11
• spindle-checkpoint kinases (kinetochore; centrosome (TTK and ESK only)) : regulate mitotic checkpoint to ensure accurate chromosomal segregation; activated by signals from unattached kinetochores to prevent premature entry into anaphase
• budding uninhibited by benzimidazole 1 (BUB1)
• BUB-related kinase 1 (BUBR1) / BUB1B
• TTK / EC STY kinase (ESK)
Germline stem cells use intracellular mechanisms involving centrosome function and cortically localized adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) to orient spindles perpendicular to the niche, ensuring a reliably asymmetric outcome in which one daughter cell remains in the niche and self-renews and the other, displaced away, initiates differentiation
• mitapsis : the fusion of the chromatin granules in the final stage of cell conjugation.
• spindle elongation theory : the theory which suggests that the spindle and asters have a decisive role in cell division. The theory is based on the observation that the elongation of the cell at anaphase is accompanied by a shrinkage at the equator. The centers are believed to be pushed apart by the spindle tubules, since the spindles and asters appear to be rigid structures.
• aster / astrosphere / cytaster / kinosphere : a structure seen in a cell during the prophase of mitosis, composed of a system of microtubules arranged in astral rays around the centrosome
• central body : the structures at the center of the aster during mitosis
• central apparatus : the dynamic organ of the cell that participates in mitosis; it consists of centrosome and astrosphere (the central mass of an aster, exclusive of the rays)
• mitosome : a body formed from the spindle fibers of the preceding mitosis; a spindle remnant
• homeotypic mitosis : the ordinary type of cell division in mitosis, as occurs also in the second, or equational, division of meiosis
• heterotypic mitosis : mitosis in which the halves of bivalent chromosomes move away from each other toward the poles, as occurs in the first, or reductional, division of meiosis
• pathologic mitosis : atypical, asymmetrical mitosis indicative of malignancy
• tetraster : a figure in abnormal mitosis characterized by 4 centrosomal centers or asters
• multicentric or pluripolar mitosis : cell division that results in the formation of > 2 daughter cells
Web resources : Mitosis World by Ted Salmon at UNC Chapel Hill
• meiosis / reductive division : a special method of cell division, occurring in maturation of the sex cells (hence only in those Eukarya with sexual reproduction), by means of which each daughter nucleus receives half the number of chromosomes characteristic of the somatic cells of the species
• meiosis I
• prophase I consists of 5 stages:
• leptotene : the stage of meiosis in which the chromosomes are slender, like threads
• zygotene / amphitene : the synaptic stage of the first meiotic prophase in which the 2 leptotene chromosomes undergo pairing by the formation of synaptonemal complexes to form a bivalent structure
• synaptonemal complex : a thick, threadlike structure formed during the zygotene (synaptic) stage of meiosis by the intertwining of 2 leptotene chromosomes so that they are indistinguishable separately.
• pachytene : synaptonemal complexes shorten, thicken, and continue to intertwine, and each of the conjoined (bivalent) chromosomes separate into 2 sister chromatids, which are held together by a centromere, to form a tetrad. During this phase the chromatids break up and corresponding regions of the nonsister chromatids of the paired chromosomes are exchanged in a process known as crossing over
• diplotene (in Amphibiadictyotene : the protracted stage resembling suspended prophase in which the primary oocyte persists from late fetal life until discharged from the ovary at or after puberty; lampbrush chromosomes): the 2 chromosomes in each bivalent begin to repel one another and a split occurs between the chromosomes, which are then held together by regions where exchanges have taken place (chiasmata) during crossing over
• meiotic prophase arrest requires the presence of the G_sPCR GPR3 in the oocyte that elevates cAMP^ref, which has been previously shown to be critical for preventing completion of meiosis^ref. 2 signals must control the receptor—one from the follicle cells to maintain arrest and one from the pituitary gland to release the arrest. The previous observation that removing an oocyte in meiotic arrest from its follicle results in spontaneous resumption of meiosis would be explained by the removal of the signal from the follicle. In addition, then, somehow the gonadotropin would result in the cessation of the production of that ligand
• diakinesis : the stage of first meiotic prophase in which the nucleolus and nuclear envelope disappear and the spindle fibers form.
• prometaphase I
• metaphase I
• anaphase I
• anaphase IA
• independent assortment : the random distribution of different combinations of the parental chromosomes to the gametes. As a result, each gamete normally possesses one genome (set of 23 chromosomes) that includes one chromosome of each type. The genes on the chromosome also assort independently unless they are linked
• anaphase IB
• telophase I
• interkinesis : a period intervening between the first and second divisions in meiosis, similar to the interphase in mitosis
• G₁
• G₂
• meiosis II
• prophase II resembles that in mitotic division
• prometaphase II
• metaphase II
• anaphase II
• anaphase IIA
• anaphase IIB
• telophase II
• cytodieresis / cytokinesis is achieved by the constriction of an actomyosin-based contractile ring and its associated plasma membrane, partitioning the cytoplasm into the daughter cells within a few minutes. Blebbistatin specifically blocks all nonmuscle myosin II-dependent processes in vertebrate cells, including cytokinesis and cell blebbing.
• contractile ring theory : a theory advanced to explain the formation of a furrow in a dividing cell. According to this theory, the gelated ring in the cortex of the dividing cell contracts (cortical gel contraction) like the nonmotile portion of an amoeba, and, therefore, decreases the surface area. Actually, however, before division the surface increases by about 26%
• expanding surface theory : a theory of cell division which postulates that a nuclear substance is liberated, probably from chromosomes, which causes expansion of the cellular membrane at the poles; as the polar areas expand, the equator contracts, leading to division.
• intermediate body of Flemming : a small bridge of acidophil material connecting the two daughter cells for a time at the end of mitosis
Web resources : Mitosis and cytokinesis
• plasmodium : a dinucleated cell resulting from mitosis not followed by cytodieresis
• mammalian cell cycle control and DNA repair systems

genotoxic stress (CPT and related anticancer drugs^ref) => ATR phosphorylation of Chk1 at Ser-345 both activates Chk1 and marks this protein for proteolytic degradation => checkpoint termination under normal conditions^ref
Web resources :
• G1/S checkpoint
• G2/M DNA damage checkpoint
• Kohn's maps, at NCI
• Introduction
• Molecular species index
• Map A: cyclins & E2F
• Map B: p53 & DNA repair
• Annotation list
• References
• Ser and Thr phosphorylation events regulate cell cycle progression
• p110^Rb and cell cycle control
• p53 and cell cycle control
• p53 story
• Cdc42 and cell cycle control

• epithelia : the covering of internal and external surfaces of the body, including the lining of vessels and other small cavities. It consists of cells joined by small amounts of cementing substances. Epithelium is classified into types on the basis of the number of layers deep and the shape of the superficial cells


• lining epithelia
• absorbing epithelium
• protective epithelium : epithelium that forms a protective covering, as the epidermis.
• ciliated epithelium :  any type bearing vibratile cilia on the free surface.
• pigmentary epithelium / pigmented epithelium : epithelium containing granules of pigment.
• pavement epithelium / tessellated epithelium : simple squamous epithelium
• stratified epithelium / laminated epithelium : epithelium in which the cells are arranged in several layers
• pseudostratified epithelium : a type of epithelium which occurs in the large excretory ducts of the parotid and several other glands and in the male urethra. The nuclei are spaced at different levels and the cells are quite variable in shape, giving the appearance of a stratified epithelium.
• columnar epithelium : a type composed of tall prismatic cells
• pyramidal epithelium : columnar epithelium whose cells have been modified by pressure into truncated pyramids.
• rod epithelium : epithelium the cells of which are rod-shaped
• cubical epithelium / cuboidal epithelium : a type composed of cells which have a cubical shape
• transitional epithelium : epithelium that was originally thought to represent a transitional form between stratified squamous and columnar epithelium, found characteristically in the mucous membrane of the excretory passages of the urinary system; in the contracted condition it consists of many cell layers, whereas in the stretched condition usually only 2 layers can be distinguished.
• secretion epithelium
• glandular epithelium : epithelium made up of glandular or secreting cells
• crescents of Giannuzzi / demilunes of Heidenhain / Giannuzzi's bodies, cells, or demilunes / crescent, demilune, or marginal cells / semilunar bodies : crescent-shaped patches of serous cells surrounding the mucous tubules in seromucous glands, and formed by the outnumbered albuminous cells pushed to the blind ends of the terminal portions or into saccular outpocketings
• merocrine gland : one in which the secretory cells maintain their integrity throughout the secretory cycle (see eccrine sweat-gland)
• apocrine gland : a gland whose discharged secretion contains part of the secreting cells (see apocrine sweat glands and mammary gland)
• holocrine gland : a gland whose discharged secretion contains entire secreting cells
• sense or sensory epithelium / neuroepithelium
• olfactory epithelium : pseudostratified epithelium lining the olfactory region of the nasal cavity, and containing the receptors for the sense of smell
• nervous epithelium(some authors consider it as another kind of tissue)
• connective tissues
• properly said connective tissue
• mucous connective tissue
• weary fibrillar connective tissue
• thick fibrillar connective tissue
• blood
• fatty tissue
• cartilage
• bone tissue
• lymphoid tissue
• muscular tissue
• smooth muscle
• skeletal muscle
• myocardium
• stem cells (focus on human stem cells) (see also cell therapy with stem cells)
• not differentiated yet
• can undergo multilineage differentiation

Lineage restriction or commitment =>
• totipotent cell : zygote and the following 4 cells can give rise to a fully differentiated adult organism, ie any type in the adult organism body and any cell of the extraembryonic membranes (placenta)
• pluripotent cell : after few divisions into development, cells can give rise to cells of all 3 germ layers, but cannot contribute to extraembryonic membranes, and require particular culture conditions
• ESCs
• EGCs
• ECCs
• multipotent or oligopotent cells : germ layer-specific cells emerge later in development and are present (quiescent) in adult tissues activating to repopulate and regenerate at a level related to the degree of environmental cues.
• unipotent, progenitor or precursor cells : organ-specific
• terminally differentiated cell
• able to  indefinite self-renewal (see tissue regeneration), apart from differentiation, apoptosis or migration
• supports development, tissue homeostasis and repair
• from embryo tissues
• embyonic stem cell (ESC) : from fertilized egg or parthenogenesis (to circumvent some of the ethical concerns; see Dividing, unfertilized eggs could offer new therapeutic option from Nature Science Update).
• before 16-cells blastocyst stage (i.e before E5)
• located in embryonic node / inner cell mass
• long-term self-renewal depending on expression of TFs :
• Oct-3/4 promotes self-renewal during differentiation from morula to early blastocyst to late blastocyst to postimplantation egg cylinder, while inhibits differentiation to trophectoderm
• Sox-2 promotes self-renewal during differentiation from late blastocyst to postimplantation egg cylinder
• FoxD3 promotes self-renewal during differentiation from late blastocyst to postimplantation egg cylinder
• STAT3 inhibits differentiation to mesoderm
• NANOG promotes self-renewal during differentiation from early to late blastocyst, while inhibits differentiation to visceral/parietal endoderm. p53 binds to the promoter of Nanog and suppresses Nanog expression after DNA damage. The rapid down-regulation of Nanog mRNA during ESC differentiation correlates with the induction of p53 transcriptional activity and Ser 315 phosphorylation. The importance of Ser 315 phosphorylation was revealed by the finding that induction of p53 activity is impaired in p53S315A knock-in ESCs during differentiation, leading to inefficient suppression of Nanog expression. The decreased inhibition of Nanog expression in p53S315A ESCs during differentiation is due to an impaired recruitment of the co-repressor mSin3a to the Nanog promoter. These findings indicate an alternative mechanism for p53 to maintain genetic stability in ESCs, by inducing the differentiation of ESCs into other cell types that undergo efficient p53-dependent cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis^ref. Through cell fusion, ESCs can erase the developmental programming of differentiated cell nuclei and impose pluripotency. Molecules that mediate this conversion should be identifiable in ESCs. One candidate is the variant homeodomain protein Nanog, which has the capacity to entrain undifferentiated ES cell propagation. In fusions between ESCs and NSCs, increased levels of Nanog stimulate pluripotent gene activation from the somatic cell genome and enable an up to 200-fold increase in the recovery of hybrid colonies, all of which show ESC characteristics. Nanog also improves hybrid yield when thymocytes or fibroblasts are fused to ESCs; however, fewer colonies are obtained than from ESC x NSC fusions, consistent with a hierarchical susceptibility to reprogramming among somatic cell types. Notably, for NCS x ESC fusions elevated Nanog enables primary hybrids to develop into ESC colonies with identical frequency to homotypic ESC x ESC fusion products. This means that in hybrids, increased Nanog is sufficient for the NSC epigenome to be reset completely to a state of pluripotency^ref
• shRNA loss-of-function techniques were used to downregulate a set of gene products whose expression patterns suggest mouse ESC self-renewal regulatory functions. 7 transcriptional regulator genes for which shRNA-mediated depletion negatively affects self-renewal were identified, including 4 genes with previously unrecognized roles in self-renewal. Perturbations of these gene products are combined with dynamic, global analyses of gene expression^ref
• stable diploid karyotype : anyway ESCs that are cultured in the lab accumulate an alarming array of genetic changes, including mutations known to be linked to cancer. The finding throws into question whether such cells could eventually be used for therapy, unless they can be kept fresh and checked for mutations before use. The longer the cells are kept, and the more they divide, the more errors they build up in their genetic code. But previous, smaller studies of stem cells had not found problematic levels of mutations. Chakravarti and his colleagues decided to take a closer look, examining 9 of the hESC lines that have federal approval. They compared frozen, archived cells with 'daughter' generations that had been created from these. Many of the archived cells seemed normal, although some had already divided tens of times to build up cell numbers into the billions. Cultured human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines are an invaluable resource because they provide a uniform and stable genetic system for functional analyses and therapeutic applications. Nevertheless, these dividing cells, like other cells, probably undergo spontaneous mutation at a rate of 10^-9 per nucleotide. Because each mutant has only a few progeny, the overall biological properties of the cell culture are not altered unless a mutation provides a survival or growth advantage. Clonal evolution that leads to emergence of a dominant mutant genotype may potentially affect cellular phenotype as well. We assessed the genomic fidelity of paired early- and late-passage hESC lines in the course of tissue culture. Relative to early-passage lines, 8 of 9 late-passage hESC lines had one or more genomic alterations commonly observed in human cancers, including aberrations in copy number (45%), mitochondrial DNA sequence (22%) and gene promoter methylation (90%), although the latter was essentially restricted to 2 of 14 promoters examined. The observation that hESC lines maintained in vitro develop genetic and epigenetic alterations implies that periodic monitoring of these lines will be required before they are used in in vivo applications and that some late-passage hESC lines may be unusable for therapeutic purposes^ref. The finding undermines a general assumption that stem cells remain unblemished until they are programmed to become a certain type of cell. It suggests that the biological properties of the cells before and after replicating could be different. It remains unclear what would happen if these stem cells were transplanted into a patient. But the results should encourage the use of fresher stem cells or, preferably, genetic screens of stem-cell lines before they are used for therapy. Some take a "glass half full" view of the findings, because the billions of archived cells seemed normal. This shows that the replications needed to boost stem-cell numbers to usable levels do not necessarily cause problems. The study supports the idea that more, fresh stem-cell lines would be useful for the scientific community: US federal research currently relies on a very limited number of lines.
• NIH Stem Cell Registry
• lack G₁ checkpoint
• lack of X inactivation if it has a XX genome
• growth on ...
• irradiated quiescent fibroblasts feeder layer (but probably FGF alone is sufficient)
• conditioned medium (CM) / cell-free culture supernatant (CFCS)
• Hayflick number = 450
• totipotent in generation of differentiated cell types from all the germ layers (3 in Trilateria), including, e.g., cochlear hairy cells. It can be demonstrated :
• in vivo
• injection of ESC from the inner cell mass of one blastocyst into the cavity of another blastocyst results in chimera formation
• ectopic injection of ESC into adult mice results in teratoma formation
• in vitro : this is the only ethically acceptable way for Homo sapiens. Please note nowadays long-term ES (LT-ES) cultures have been obtained only from Mus musculus, Homo sapiens and Macaca mulatta.
• inducing formation of complex cystoid embryoid bodies (EB) in which endodermal, mesodermal, and ectodermal formations can be detected
• by subtracting leukemia inhibiting factor (LIF) / differentiation inhibiting activity (DIA)
• by giving :
• retinoic acid (RA)
• 3-methoxybenzamide
• clonogenicity
• integration in all fetal tissues (chimera formation)
• germ line colonization
• inducible proliferative/differentiative state
Sources of ESC lines :
• aborted fetuses
• destruction of preimplantation human embryos created during FIVET procedures, whose ethical status is undefined yet. Some religions and many people who view the human preimplantation embryo as a person or subject with rights and interests believe that the intentional destruction of an embryo is equivalent to murmer : then the beneficial goal of saving or prolonging life would not matter, for no life may be taken to preserve the life of one or even many persons (except in cases of self-defence, war and dire necessity). On the other side widely held philosophical and moral views hold that status as a person or as an entity with interests requires, at the very least, a nervous system capable of sentience, if not also of cognition and consciousness, which is not present in the undifferentiated cells of preimplantation human embryos, although it is different from ordinary human tissue because of the unique potential it has to develop into a new human being ("special respect"). The distinction between use and derivation reflects the basic distinction in the ethics of complicity between causing an immoral or wrongful act to occur and benefiting from it once it has occurred.
• single-cell biopsies taken from an 8-cell human embryo can sometimes be coaxed to produce ESCs, suggesting that such "biopsies" might be a way to generate new stem-cell lines while preserving embryos^ref : on the contrary, all 16 donated embryos used in the study were destroyed during the experiments, a fact that was stated, although not emphasized, in the article. A total of 91 cells (called blastomeres) were individually removed from the early-stage embryos and were cultured, in most cases in dishes with other blastomeres. 2 of the blastomeres gave rise to embryonic stem-cell lines. The results — together with unpublished work by the authors — suggest, in principle, that single-cell biopsies (which are done on some embryos in IVF clinics for preimplantation genetic diagnosis) could be used to derive stem cells without destroying embryos^{ref1, ref2}
• embryonic stem cells generated via nuclear transfer (ntES cells)
• parthenogenetic eggs (pES cells)
• human parthenotes^ref
• following parthenogenetic activation of murine oocytes and interruption of meiosis I or II, we have isolated and genotyped pES cells and characterized those that carry the full complement of MHC antigens of the oocyte donor. Differentiated tissues from these pES cells engraft in immunocompetent MHC-matched mouse recipients, demonstrating that selected pES cells can serve as a source of histocompatible tissues for transplantation^ref
• nonhuman primate parthenogenetic stem cells^ref : parthenogenesis is the biological phenomenon by which embryonic development is initiated without male contribution. Whereas parthenogenesis is a common mode of reproduction in lower organisms, the mammalian parthenote fails to produce a successful pregnancy as sperm is required for implantation and placenta formation and cannot survive longer than several days. Monkey (Macaca fascicularis) eggs can be parthenogenetically developed in vitro to the blastocyst stage, harvested and cultured to create a pluripotent line of monkey stem cells (Cyno-1 cells) TERT⁺, AlkP⁺, Oct-3/4⁺, stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA-4)⁺, tumor rejection antigen 1-60 (TRA 1-60)⁺, and tumor rejection antigen 1-81 (TRA 1-81)⁺ (traditional markers of human ES cells). They have a normal chromosome karyotype (40 + 2) and can be maintained in vitro in an undifferentiated state for extended periods of time. Cyno-1 cells can be differentiated in vitro into dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons, contractile cardiomyocyte-like cells, smooth muscle, ciliated epithelia, and adipocytes. When Cyno-1 cells are injected into SCID mice, teratomas with derivatives from all 3 embryonic germ layers were obtained. When grown on fibronectin/laminin-coated plates and in neural progenitor medium, Cyno-1 cells assume a neural precursor phenotype (nestin⁺). However, these cells remain proliferative and express no functional ion channels. When transferred to differentiation conditions, the nestin-positive precursors assume neuronal and epithelial morphologies. Over time, these cells acquire electrophysiological characteristics of functional neurons (appearance of tetrodotoxin-sensitive, voltage-gated sodium channels). These results suggest that stem cells derived from the parthenogenetically activated nonhuman primate egg provide a potential source for autologous cell therapy in the female and bypass the need for creating a competent embryo.
Cell culture : early-stage mammalian embryos develop in a low O₂ environment (hypoxia). hESCs, however, are generally cultured under an atmosphere of 21% O₂ (normoxia), under which conditions they tend to differentiate spontaneously. Such conditions may not be the most suitable, therefore, for hESC propagation. hESCs grow as well under hypoxic (3% and 5% O₂) as under normoxic conditions (21% O₂), and growth was only slightly reduced at 1% O₂. Hypoxic culture reduces the amount of spontaneous cell differentiation that occurs in hES colonies, as assessed morphologically, biochemically (by the production of hCG and progesterone), and immunohistochemically (by the loss of stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 and Oct-3/4 and gain of stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 marker expression). In addition, hESC growth under hypoxia provided enhanced formation of embryoid bodies. Hypoxic culture would appear to be necessary to maintain full pluripotency of hES cells^ref.
In vitro differentiations :
• germ cells differentiated after meiosis :
• egg cells differentiated from female mouse ESCs^ref. In 2003, Hans Schöler of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and his colleagues reported that after mouse ESCs had been cultured for around 40 days, some of them spontaneously produced eggs^ref. Irina Kerkis from the Roger Abdelmassih Clinic in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and her colleagues hoped to find a more efficient way to grow eggs. So they decided to see whether retinoic acid could trigger egg as well as sperm production. They took cells cultured from a male mouse embryo and grew them into hollow balls called embryoid bodies, which look rather like early embryos. Then they grew them with retinoic acid for 4 days. Two weeks later they were surprised to see both eggs and sperm produced. Cells on the outside of the embryoid bodies turned into mature, elongated sperm, whereas cells on the inside formed follicles, which released eggs. The eggs developed into embryo-like structures called blastocysts that then 'hatched', a process that normally occurs just before an embryo implants into the uterus wall. The embryos probably formed by a process known as parthenogenesis, in which an unfertilized egg can develop into an embryo-like structure. In mammals, such 'parthenotes' never develop past implantation. But because mature sperm were present in the same dish, it's possible they could have fertilized the eggs. Although she admits it is unlikely, she is currently carrying out tests to investigate whether it occurred. The eggs were produced more quickly and efficiently than in previous work, and that the resulting embryo-like structures developed further than has been seen before. The work is at an early stage, and for such work to be of therapeutic use in humans, researchers will require much better control over the process. It will need to be much more directed. The idea is that eventually, infertile men or women could clone a body cell to produce an embryo, from which embryonic stem cells would then be extracted. These could then be coaxed into producing viable eggs or sperm. That would be "a big loop", but it could be possible within 20 or 30 years. In the meantime, eggs produced in the lab would be of use for research, for example to produce embryonic stem-cell lines. Harvesting eggs from women is a painful and risky process, so the supply of eggs is a major limiting factor. Everyone's looking to see if we'll be able to get some more eggs from somewhere
• sperm  (FE-J1⁺) without tail differentiated from male mouse embryoid bodies ESC (EBs : SSEA1⁺) (rather like an early embryo)^ref. They can successfully fertilize and develop diploid blastocysts in only 20% of challenged eggs (probably due to awry DNA remethylation)^ref: whether the embryos would have produced live births is not known, as the experiment was halted 5 days after fertilization (if reprogramming were affected, the embryos may have aborted later). It could lead to alternative ways to help infertile couples conceive by in vitro fertilization : human sperm will be more difficult to make than mouse sperm : reprogramming problems aside, researchers will first need to make their stem cells using therapeutic cloning.
• in 2004, researchers led by George Daley of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, coaxed cells into producing sperm precursors, by adding retinoic acid^ref. These cells did not form mature sperm, but were able to fertilize eggs when injected into them.
• in mice, primordial germ cells (PGCs) appear in gastrulating embryos at embryonic day 7.25 and have been generated in vitro from the outer germinal membrane of an ovum (epiblast), provided the epiblast is cocultured with cells expressing BMP4 and BMP8b. How the founder population of PGCs is separated from the rest of the pluripotent epiblast has been unclear because of technical difficulties in distinguishing PGCs from ES cells, since standard PGC markers (Oct-3/4 and alkaline phosphatase) are also positive in ES cells. By using the mouse vasa homolog (Mvh) helicase as a molecular marker specific for differentiating PGCs it has been shown that male ES cells can form PGCs equivalent to those found in the fetal gonad (expressing also GCNA1 and SYCP3) in vitro when co-cultured in presence of BMP4-producing cells. After coculture with gonadal cells and transplantation into the male gonad, ES-derived PGCs differentiated into spermatogenic cells and, ultimately, sperm.
• sperm created from ESCs can give rise to live offspring. The work, carried out by researchers in Germany and Britain, culminated in the production of 6 adult mice that owed their origins to sperm derived from these 'multipurpose' cells. But the technique certainly isn't perfect: the success rate was very low, and the mice suffered genetic abnormalities. So there is no immediate prospect of the method being adapted to treat infertile men. But the discovery could lend valuable insights into the process by which functioning sperm are manufactured. Ordinarily, sperm cells develop from precursors known as 'spermatogonial stem cells' (SSCs) in the testes. ESCs taken from early mouse embryos were converted into SSCs, and from there into functioning sperm. Both sperm cells and eggs have been made from stem cells before. But this research goes further. The sperm was implanted artificially into eggs collected from mice, and was capable of fertilizing the eggs, which produced living offspring when implanted into surrogate mothers. The sperm cells are functional, and can fertilize an oocyte. Of 210 eggs injected with the lab-reared sperm, only 65 began to undergo cell division, and only seven live births resulted, with one of these offspring failing to reach adulthood^ref. The other 6 mice were all smaller or larger than control mice thanks to abnormal growth rates. All died within 5 months of their birth; mice usually live for years. The problems are probably introduced, during imprinting: a change in the pattern of genes that are switched on, or expressed, in the embryo. Learning how sperm are produced could ultimately help in treating infertile men in whom this pathway is defective. From a scientific point of view, this should be seen as a milestone in understanding how cells produce functioning sperm. The technique could also be honed to remove the need to use stem cells taken from embryos. One possibility is to use stem cells from blood in the placenta or umbilical cord, which is rich in these highly adaptable proliferating cells. Any human application is nevertheless a long way away, other researchers warn. It is more difficult to say whether artificial sperm produced this way could ultimately be used as a new treatment for male infertility. There are many technical, ethical and safety issues to be confronted before this could even be considered
Stem cells from a mouse embryo have been coaxed into producing both eggs and sperm in the same dish. The eggs and sperm are the most mature yet grown in the lab, and the advance brings researchers closer to their ultimate aim: producing human eggs and sperm from adult body cells so that infertile men and women can have their own children. Applying the technique to humans would be controversial, not least because it raises the possibility that men might be able to produce eggs, and women sperm. But any human application would be decades away, which would allow time for ethical debate over the technology. In the meantime, lab-produced eggs and sperm will help them to learn exactly how these cells are created in the body, something that is crucial to understanding fertility disorders and embryo development. The achievement builds on previous work using mouse embryonic stem cells to grow eggs and sperm.
• immature immune cells differentiated from mouse ESCs whose Notch receptors are engaged by Delta-like 1 ligand (DL1) (a protein essential in T-cell production) expressed on the OP9-DL1 stromal cell line. ESC-derived T cell progenitors effectively reconstituted the T cell compartment of immunodeficient mice, enabling an effective response to a viral infection^ref. The technique would work best if the immature immune cells could somehow be delivered into the thymus. They might one day be used in cancer and HIV patients whose own supply has been wiped out : HIV patients could be given cells genetically enhanced to fight the virus. Grafts of bone marrow stem cells must be matched to the patient to avoid rejection, take months to produce T cells, and the small number they make leaves patients vulnerable to infections. In theory, the lab-made immune cells could be used for any patient, because they lack surface molecules that trigger rejection. And because embryonic stem cells keep dividing indefinitely, they might sprout an unlimited supply.
• human ESCs can differentiate through the T lymphoid lineage and engraft into human thymic tissues in immunodeficient mice. Stable transgene expression was maintained at high levels throughout differentiation, suggesting that genetically manipulated hESC hold potential to treat several T cell disorders^ref
• specific neuronal subtypes :
• Pax-6⁺radial glial cells are generated by selection of highly proliferative ESCs followed by treatment with retinoic acid. As they do in vivo, these cells went on to generate neurons with remarkably uniform biochemical and electrophysiological characteristics^ref.
• hESCs generate early neuroectodermal cells, which organize into rosettes and expressed Pax6 but not Sox1, and then late neuroectodermal cells, which formed neural tube-like structures and expressed both Pax6 and Sox1. Only the early, but not the late, neuroectodermal cells were efficiently posteriorized by retinoic acid and, in the presence of sonic hedgehog, differentiated into spinal motoneurons. The in vitro-generated motoneurons expressed HB9, HoxC8, choline acetyltransferase and SLC18A3 / vesicular acetylcholine transporter, induced clustering of acetylcholine receptors in myotubes, and were electrophysiologically active. These findings indicate that retinoic acid action is required during neuroectoderm induction for motoneuron specification and suggest that stem cells have restricted capacity to generate region-specific projection neurons even at an early developmental stage^ref.
• type II pneumocytes can be derived in vitro from murine ES cells. After withdrawal of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and formation of embryoid bodies in maintenance medium for 10, 20, and 30 days, differentiating ES cells were kept in the same medium or transferred to serum-free small airway growth medium (SAGM) for a further 3 or 14 days of culture. The presence of type II pneumocytes in the resulting mixed cultures was demonstrated by RT-PCR of surfactant protein C (SPC) mRNA, immunostaining of SPC, and electron microscopy of osmiophilic lamellar bodies only at 30 days sampling time. SAGM appeared to be more favorable for type II cell formation than ES medium. No SPC transcripts were found in differentiating cells grown under the same conditions without formation of embryoid bodies. These findings could form the basis for the enrichment of ES cell-derived cultures with type II pneumocytes, and provide an in vitro system for investigating mechanisms of lung repair and regeneration^ref.
• small airway pneumocytes were differentiated from hESC in 2003 (Polak J, Tissue Engineering)
• definitive endoderm, such as the pancreas. Differentiation of hES cells in the presence of activin A and low serum produced cultures consisting of up to 80% definitive endoderm cells. This population was further enriched to near homogeneity using the cell-surface receptor CXCR4. The process of definitive endoderm formation in differentiating hES cell cultures includes an apparent epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and a dynamic gene expression profile that are reminiscent of vertebrate gastrulation^ref. Definitive and visceral endoderm were distinguished by using a mouse ES cell line that bears the gfp and human IL2R marker genes in the goosecoid (Gsc) and Sox17 loci, respectively. This cell line allowed us to monitor the generation of Gsc⁺Sox17⁺ definitive endoderm and Gsc^-Sox17⁺ visceral endoderm and to define culture conditions that differentially induce definitive and visceral endoderm. By comparing the gene expression profiles of definitive and visceral endoderm, 7 surface molecules were identified that are expressed differentially in the two populations. One of the 7 markers, Cxcr4, to which a mAb is available allowed us to monitor and purify the Gsc⁺ population from genetically unmanipulated ES cells under the condition that selects definitive endoderm^ref
• endocrine cells capable of synthesizing the pancreatic hormones insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide and ghrelin. This process mimics in vivo pancreatic organogenesis by directing cells through stages resembling definitive endoderm, gut-tube endoderm, pancreatic endoderm and endocrine precursor—en route to cells that express endocrine hormones. The hES cell–derived insulin-expressing cells have an insulin content approaching that of adult islets. Similar to fetal -cells, they release C-peptide in response to multiple secretory stimuli, but only minimally to glucose. Production of these hES cell–derived endocrine cells may represent a critical step in the development of a renewable source of cells for diabetes cell therapy^ref
Transplantation of ESC-derived, differentiated cells could prove useful in :
• drug development and toxicity tests
• tissue/cells for therapy
• experiments to study development and gene control
Culture methods : your stem cells have just arrived. Now, how do you convert those frozen vials into a thriving, hESC research program?
• 1. don't expect to jump right into hESCs research. Even if your lab is ready to go, it is still going to take you about 16 weeks minimum, to go from deriving your MEFs to actually growing up a lot of hESCs and being able to freeze them down. So even with a complete lab, you're looking at 4 to 6 months before you can even experiment with these cells
• 2. don't buy commercial murine embryo fibroblast (MEFs) : though it is possible to buy MEFs, WiCell recommends making them in-house. It only costs $26 for 1 pregnant mouse, which can yield 12 to 15 vials of MEFs. It costs about $50 to get 2 to 4 vials of MEFs from a commercial vendor, so you're paying twice the cost for one-sixth the MEFs. ... In addition, you never know what you're going to get from a commercial vendor. WiCell only uses MEFs to passage 5, and after that, they really start dying off. A lot of commercial vendors will sell MEFs at passage 3 or 4, which makes them useless for embryonic stem cell culture.
• 3. MEFs must be irradiated to halt their growth. WiCell's protocol calls for a dose of 8,000 rads, but this number is variable. With a cesium irradiator, 8,000 rads seems about right, but with an x-ray machine the required dose is more like 12,000 rads. You can also inactivate chemically with mitomycin C, but irradiation is recommended if possible. ESCs are extremely sensitive to chemicals : when you're chemically inactivating your MEFs, you need to ensure there are no traces of the chemical on your cells before you add the embryonic stem cells
• 4. thaw cells as quickly as you can possibly do it without cutting corners. I've found a few cases where I've thawed a vial and a new person at WiCell thawed out a duplicate, and she got about 50% of the colonies I got even though they were the exact same cells... A difference of 30 to 45 seconds makes a big difference in the amount of cells you recover. Practice the protocol several times before actually thawing your hESCs, to minimize delays.
• 5. don't expect a completely dense culture right after a thaw ; only 0.1% to 1% of cells survive the procedure. Feed every single day because something might pop up in 3 days, 5 days, maybe even 7 or 8 days, all of a sudden a little colony will pop up. A thaw isn't deemed a failure until 14 days have passed. And don't neglect the plate's edges. Frequently you find a lot of colonies around these edges. (Visualize these by placing your finger along the rim of the plate to block the diffraction of light.)
• 6. feed and assess them every day and never let them overgrow : they generally need to be split about once a week. hESC form tight, homogeneous, flat colonies with sharp borders, while differentiating colonies have ragged, uneven edges or transparent centers. Under low magnification, healthy colonies appear white, while colonies that have "balled up" in solution and then settled appear yellow; these latter colonies mimic a developing embryo and will likely differentiate.
• 7. an experienced hESC veteran will worry about his or her cells. If you worry, you'll look at them under the microscope a lot, get a real sense of what they look like, what they look like before they differentiate. You learn to anticipate when the cells are going to do something tomorrow. And that's important, because hESC work really is more art than science. There's much the class cannot teach, but we teach you how to make the correct judgement.
• 8. though it makes culture maintenance difficult, ESC differentiation is a good thing, because it indicates a healthy culture. A trouble-free culture should raise flags. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is : when your ESCs are all of a sudden growing really well, and really fast, and they always look great, and they are never differentiating, that's when you should be suspicious that something is wrong. At that point, karyotype.
• 9. we have an informal rule for deciding what we want to do with our plate of hESCs. Under 10% differentiation, pass the cells as-is. Between 10% and 50% differentiation, remove those cells by a process called "pick-to-remove." Above 50% differentiation, mechanically remove the undifferentiated colonies to a fresh plate of MEFs, using a process called "pick-to-keep."
• 10. if you're picking-to-keep often, you're probably doing something wrong. You should find yourself picking to remove about once every other passage, give or take. So therefore, you should never hit over half being differentiated. ... If you find yourself picking to keep, say more than once every other month, maybe once every 3 months ... you're neglecting your cells. You should be doing pick-to-remove, not pick-to-keep.
• 11. picking too frequently can cause abnormal cell outgrowth, so it's important not to be a perfectionist. If you see a few patches of differentiation, maybe 2% to 3% of the culture, that's not that much and you can be sure those colonies are probably normal. But if, month after month, you constantly pick to produce a pure, undifferentiated culture, you can promote an abnormality – trisomy 12 or 17, for instance. Plus, there's no better way to contaminate your cells than picking.
• 12. if you have perfect cell culture technique and perfect sterile technique, there's no need for antibiotics. Besides, they could adversely affect your culture. You never know when you're adding another element to your media how it's going to affect your ESCs. Those antibiotics could select for abnormal cells for all you know.
• 13. of the 22 federally approved hESC lines, 5 come from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which established WiCell in 1999 to, among other things, distribute those lines to researchers around the world. The Institute has fulfilled 300 requests to date, at $5,000 each. That represents some 40% of all hESCs shipped, according to NIH statistics. WiCell distributes cells between passage 20 and 25 that have been karyotyped to ensure they are genetically normal. But you should have them karyotyped, too. We recommend you get them karyotyped before you start experiments, just to make sure they are normal. Then, when you start getting really great data, it's good to check before you finish, and again before you publish. You should karyotype every 10 passages after passage 50
• 14. build up an emergency supply of frozen cells as soon as possible after thawing. Once you're at the point of expanding, start freezing, a few vials at a time. You want to start freezing as soon as possible, because you want the lowest passage cells. Don't wait until you have lots of cells to start freezing. Cells are ready to freeze about 2 days before they are ready to split, at about day 5. That's when the cells are growing most rapidly and will be thaw most robustly
• 15. hESC culture cannot realistically be a side project. Between culturing MEFs and splitting and maintaining the hESCs, the culture work consumes > 20 hours per week. As a result, it's critical that you train another person to cover your culture needs in the event you are sick or just need a vacation. It's too much of a commitment for one person to do alone, so always have a backup."^ref
• embryonic germinal cells (EGC)
• coming from cultures of PGCs from gonadal ridge of 5-9 weeks fetal tissue that results from elective abortions
• as for ESCs, they :
• can form EBs
• retain a normal karyotype
• can generate both XX and XY cultures
• express a set of markers characteristic of pluripotent cells
• spontaneously differentiate into derivatives of all 3 primary germ layers
• but ...
• Hayflick number = 80
• not able to induce teratoma in vivo in mice
• differentiating germ cells can revert into functional stem cells in Drosophila melanogaster ovaries : germline stem cells begin to differentiate by forming interconnected germ cell cysts (cystocytes), and under certain conditions male mouse cystocytes have been postulated to revert into functional progenitors. 4- and 8-cell Drosophila germline cystocytes generated either in second instar larval ovaries or in adults over-producing the BMP4-like stem cell signal Decapentaplegic efficiently convert into single stem-like cells. These de-differentiated cells can develop into functional germline stem cells and support normal fertility. Cystocytes represent a relatively abundant source of regenerative precursors that might help replenish germ cells after depletion by genotoxic chemicals, radiation or normal aging^ref.
• embryonic carcinoma (EC) cells are PGCs, able to induce teratoma when implanted into differentiated tissues.
• amniotic epithelial cells develop from the epiblast by 8 days after fertilization and prior to gastrulation opening the possibility that they might maintain the plasticity of pre-gastrulation embryo cells. Amniotic epithelial cells isolated from human term placenta express surface makers normally present on embryonic stem and germ cells. In addition, amniotic epithelial cells express the pluripotent stem cell specific transcription factors Oct-3/4, and Nanog. Under certain culture conditions, amniotic epithelial cells form spheroid structures which retained stem cell characteristics. Amniotic epithelial cells do not require other cell derived feeder layers to maintain Oct-4 expression, do not express telomerase and are non-tumorigenic upon transplantation. Based on immunohistochemical and genetic analysis, amniotic epithelial cells have the potential to differentiate to all three germ layers-endoderm (liver, pancreas), mesoderm (cardiomyocyte), and ectoderm (neural cells) in vitro. Amnion derived from term placenta following live birth may be a useful and non-controversial source of stem cells for cell transplantation and regenerative medicine^ref. According to US census figures, there are > 4 million live births each year. For each discarded placenta, there are about 300 million amniotic epithelial cells that could be expanded to between 10 and 60 billion cells relatively easily.
National laws on ESCs :
• USA laws allow federal funding on human ESC research only for those 22 lines that already existed before President Bush Aug 9, 2001 policy, ie those listed in the NIH Human ESC Registry (ESCR) :
• BresaGen, Inc., Athens, Georgia, USA (4 different stem cell lines)
• CyThera, Inc., San Diego, California, USA (9)
• ES Cell International, Melbourne, Australia (6)
• Geron Corporation, Menlo Park, California, USA (7)
• Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden (19)
• Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (6)
• Maria Biotech Co.Ltd, Maria Infertility Hospital Medical Institute, Seoul, South Korea (3)
• MizMedi Hospital, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea (1)
• National Centre for Biological Sciences / Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India (3)
• Pochon CHA University, Seoul, Korea (2)
• Reliance Life Sciences, Mumbai, India (7)
• Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel (4)
• University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), California, USA (2)
• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation [other site], Madison, Wisconsin, USA (5)
All 22 are grown in Petri dishes containing nutrient broth (usually containing animal serum) and mouse feeder cells (typically mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF)). Embryonic mouse cells have on their surface N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc). Humans are genetically unable to produce Neu5Gc, because of a mutation that occurred after our last common ancestor with great apes. Although Neu5Gc is presumed absent from normal humans, small amounts have been claimed to exist in human tumors and fetal meconium. Both human ESCs (HESC) and derived embryoid bodies metabolically incorporate substantial amounts of Neu5Gc under standard conditions. Exogenous Neu5Gc reaches lysosomes of HESCs via pinocytic/endocytic pathways, and is exported in free form into the cytosol, becoming available for activation and transfer to glycoconjugates^ref. Neu5Gc has never been reported in plants or microbes: Neu5Gc is rare in poultry and fish, common in milk products, and enriched in red meats. Eating these foods has sensitized people to the molecule and normal humans have variable amounts of circulating IgA, IgM, and IgG antibodies against Neu5Gc, with the highest levels comparable to those of the previously known anti-a-galactose xenoreactive antibodies. This finding represents an instance wherein humans absorb and metabolically incorporate a nonhuman dietary component enriched in foods of mammalian origin, even while generating xenoreactive, and potentially autoreactive, antibodies against the same molecule^ref. Exposure to human sera with antibodies specific for Neu5Gc resulted in binding of immunoglobulin and deposition of complement, which would lead to cell killing in vivo. This suggests the cells are seen as foreign, and that transplanting them into the body would trigger the immune system to reject them. This does not mean that all available lines should be thrown out, but we need to take caution when using these cells as therapeutics. We eat animal products and drink milk all the time and get this acid into our cells, and yet we are not always suffering from raging autoimmune disease. Varki's team did not test all of the 22 federally funded human ESC lines that were created in the USA before the ban came down, but the cellular mechanism for absorbing Neu5Gc is universal, and all US stem-cell cultures have probably been exposed to animal material. The current stem-cell lines have little clinical value, but that is not an issue for pursuing basic research. In fact, these lines will help to develop animal-free conditions for growing and maintaining human ESCs and minimizing safety concerns. Until better growth conditions are established, a group in Sweden with stem cells that have never been exposed to materials from animals will keep the cells frozen and unavailable for use. In summer 2004, more than half the members of the Senate urged easing limits on new cell lines, noting that potential contamination could make available lines use for humans uncertain. Existing cells might be isolated from animal products for a time, allowing the acid to be diluted. Levels of Neu5Gc on HESC and embryoid bodies dropped after culture in heat-inactivated anti-Neu5Gc antibody-negative human serum, reducing (but not completely eliminating) binding of antibodies and complement from high-titer sera, while allowing maintenance of the undifferentiated state. Complete elimination of Neu5Gc would be likely to require using human serum with human feeder layers, ideally starting with fresh HESC that have never been exposed to animal products^ref. 4 GMP-grade human ESC lines, which have been made from scratch specifically for clinical use, make their debut this week. Singapore-based biotech company ESI will announce on 27 July 2006 the existence of these lines, plus 4 more in the pipeline, and will make them available to researchers worldwide by the end of 2006. The announcement comes just as the USA is locked in debate about the need for new human ESC lines to do research. A bill that would allow US federal funds to be used for such work passed the House and then the Senate, but was predictably vetoed by President George Bush. Against the backdrop of that debate, academic and biotech groups have been gearing up to generate clinical-grade lines to speed the cells' entry into medicinal use once therapeutic value has been demonstrated. Early embryonic lines, including those currently licensed for use with US federal monies, were developed using animal products, and some researchers have been worried that they might have negative effects. 2 versions of the cell lines will be available. Research-grade cells will be available to academic researchers for a modest administrative fee and will be distributed through the A*STAR Singapore Stem Cell Consortium, the government agency that coordinates stem-cell research in Singapore. Clinical-grade cells will come at a bigger cost. ESI will maintain control of these lines, so any groups wanting to use them will need to negotiate a fee and royalty agreement with the company in order to obtain the cells and the crucial documentation needed for regulatory approval. The company's objective is to get as many researchers as possible interested in working on the research lines, and thereby maximize demand for the clinical-grade siblings. There is a growing need for facilities that can derive and bank GMP-grade human ES cell lines. Groups around the world, including in the UK, Japan and the USA, are building facilities for deriving this kind of high-quality human ES lines. Some in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics also happen to be adopting the same protocols, so the blastocyst embryos themselves will be created under these conditions. Another option is to bring the older lines up to clinical standards, rather than starting from scratch. The stem-cell company Geron, based in Menlo Park, California, claims to have derived clinical-grade lines using well-characterized cells already registered for use with federal funds: H1 and H9, which were initially grown on mouse 'feeder' cells. To purify their cell lines, Geron cultivated the cells free of animal feeder cells for several years. The cells have passed every single test that the regulatory agencies mandate for human use. The company will apply for FDA approval to start clinical trials in 2007, using glial cells differentiated from their embryonic stem-cell lines to treat spinal-injury patients. ESI lines adhere to FDA guidelines for other cell cultures. But for the meantime, both groups will have to battle the fact that the definition of 'safe' for ES cells remains unclear. The regulatory agencies haven't defined it : they say 'tell us what you've got and we'll tell you whether it is OK'.
Mouse blastocysts with and without zonae pellucidae are susceptible to complement-dependent antibody cytotoxicity. Exposure of blastocysts to rabbit anti-mouse serum together with complement results in the death of all cells; however, when blastocysts are exposed to antiserum alone and then transferred to guinea pig complement, only the trophoblastic cells are killed. These results suggest that the mouse blastocyst is not permeable for certain antibodies. The inner cell masses can easily be separated from the remnants of trophoblastic cells and are then able to grow and differentiate in vitro. This method of immunosurgery can be used to obtain large quantities of pure inner cell masses (ICMs) in a relatively short period of time^ref. It was shown to work for human blastocyts, too^ref
An ESC line was derived without exposure to cells or serum : frozen cleavage-stage embryos were thawed and cultured to the blastocyst stage. Inner cell masses were isolated by immunosurgery and plated onto ECM-coated plates that can be easily sterilised. 6 established human ESC lines were also maintained with this serum and feeder free culture system. The cells maintained normal karyotype and markers of pluripotency, including Oct-3/4, stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-3, SSEA-4, tumour-rejection antigen (TRA)-1-60, TRA-1-81, and alkaline phosphatase. After > 6 months of undifferentiated proliferation, these cells retained the potential to form derivatives of all 3 embryonic germ layers both in vitro and in teratomas. These properties were also successfully maintained (for > 30 passages) with the established stem-cell lines. This system eliminates exposure of human ESC and their progeny to animal and human feeder layers, and thus the risk of contamination with pathogenic agents capable of transmitting diseases to patients^ref.
Harvard University researcher Doug Melton announced in March 2004 that he had created 17 new stem cell lines with private funding. Melton has been pegged to codirect the new Harvard Stem Cell Institute, a privately funded venture banding together nearly 100 researchers.
• California : a ballot initiative to raise $3 billion dollars for stem-cell research passed with the endorsement of its Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. By 59% to 41% of votes, Californians said "yes" to Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, which will raise around $300 million a year for a decade through bond sales. The money will pay for research that has not been eligible for government money since 9 Aug 2001, when President George W. Bush limited federal spending on human embryonic stem-cell research to cell lines in existence as of that date. The creation of new cell lines involves the destruction of a days-old human embryo. Bush's opponent in the presidential race, Senator John Kerry, had promised to reverse the ruling, a move that would have freed up an indeterminate amount of additional funds for stem-cell work. Conceived 3 years ago by a group of wealthy Californians whose families include diabetes sufferers, it will create a new research entity, the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, to distribute the funds and establish research guidelines. It will amend the state constitution to guarantee biologists' right to do embryonic stem-cell research, and protect the institute from interference or supervision by the legislature. A Field Poll taken 2 days before the election showed that the 'yes' vote was driven largely by a belief in medical research and its ability to find treatments for disease. That has been the message of the campaign, which raised nearly $20 million over 6 months to promote the measure. Opponents, who raised only a few hundred thousand dollars, included moral objectors to embryo research and a larger share who worried about the money involved. According to the same poll, 45% of probable 'no' voters said either that California couldn't afford to borrow the money or that the state should leave it to federal government and industry to come up with the cash. Several opposition groups are also worried about the lack of clear ethical guidelines in the measure, given the moral concerns surrounding the work. Now that the Institute for Regenerative Medicine has the green light, those groups plan to be vigilant. The discrepancy between federal and state rules may create confusion among researchers over how to set up collaborations between states and could lead to an exodus of stem-cell scientists to the state. The projected cost of the California's stem cell initiative is US$ 6 billions : the Governor Schwarzenegger rescindment of vehicle licence fees caused lost of 4 billions of US$, while the Calfornia's deficit is estimated to be 10 billions of US$
• New Jersey
• Connecticut legislature may pass in 2005 legislation allowing both adult and embryonic stem cell researchwith strong bipartisan support. In 2004, the state Senate passed a bill to allow stem cell research with overwhelming support, but the bill was subsequently defeated by 4 votes in the House of Representatives. Governor would take between $10 and $20 million from the current budget surplus to promote stem cell research in the state. The proposed legislation was written with the help of CURE, a nonprofit group of biotech companies and educational institutions that promotes the biotech industry and biological research in Connecticut. Connecticut is a leading employer in the biotech pharmaceutical field, but now that proposition 71 has passed in California and there are funds to recruit stem cell biologists, they are going to be able to start to recruit people away from existing institutions in Connecticut.
• Nebraska : senator Joel Johnson, a Republican and former surgeon decided to fight back and introduce another bill, LB580, to ban reproductive cloning but permitting research on embryonic stem cells and let cells divide for 14 days. In the past two years, Nebraska has toyed with a bill banning all forms of cloning. Last year, Johnson and like-minded legislators used filibustering to delay a vote, forcing the other side to produce 33 votes (out of 49) required to stop the debate. This left supporters of the ban a few votes shy of victory before the session ended. A bill that bans embryonic stem cell research would be problematic for Nebraska. Medical research across the state has increased dramatically, and that momentum could come to a grinding halt if legislators began limiting researchers. The University of Nebraska Medical Center recently opened its new $77 million Durham Research Center of Excellence in Omaha, and in 2004, UNMC researchers attracted $80 million in private and public funding. The bill was modeled after one that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced. Both Democrats and Republicans have cosigned his bill, although the Nebraska Senate is officially nonpartisan, and no member runs for office under a political party. Legally, the Senate cannot pass, nor can the governor sign, contradictory bills.
The US Senate has passed a bill that aims to expand the scope of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The bill, named HR 810, would allow federal funding agencies to support the development of new embryonic stem cell lines derived from unused frozen embryos created by in-vitro fertilization treatments. That's a radical departure from the current rules in the United States, which allow federal funds to be used only on projects that work with a limited number of existing stem cell lines. The Senate passed the bill by 63 votes to 37, a tally that was met with audible gasps and a smattering of applause from the visitors' gallery. But the bill, which was also passed by the House of Representatives in May, will probably die at the hands of President Bush, who has repeatedly said he will veto any such law. Neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives is expected to muster the 2/3 majority required to override the president. The House would need an additional 50 'yes' votes from its 435 members, and observers expect that winning an additional 4 votes in the Senate is unlikely. Nevertheless, activists in favour of stem cell research responded jubilantly to the Senate vote. If anybody had tried to bet at the start of this Congress that we would pass this bill through two chambers, nobody would have taken that bet. The shift in the political climate is probably fuelled by the upcoming election season. Most Americans support stem cell research, and so opponents of the bill could find themselves vulnerable to attack this autumn. During the 2-day Senate debate, senators on both sides of the issue related emotional tales of family, friends and constituents suffering from diseases or spinal injuries that may, theoretically, be treatable using stem cells. Opponents of HR 810 insisted that they were not against stem cell research in general but favoured the development of adult stem cell and cord blood therapies over the use of embryonic stem cells. Republican senator Sam Brownback of Kansas claimed that adult stem cells have been successfully used in over 60 therapies in humans, whereas embryonic stem cells have been successfully used only once. And that one success was in rats, not humans. It seems like there's been a media blackout of the success of adult stem cells and this rat is getting all the attention. In a letter to Science^ref, 3 scientists reported that they could find evidence for only 9 of the 60-plus adult stem cell treatments that Brownback referred to. It's not a surprise that there are not therapies from embryonic stem cell research yet. It'll take a while before one is able to regenerate other tissues from these cells. Although it's difficult to predict a timetable for any of that, if this bill were to pass, it would hasten the day when those cell replacement therapies arrive. If Bush vetoes HR 810, development of new embryonic stem cell lines in the US will continue to depend on private or state funding. At present there is quite a lot of money available from such non-federal sources: California, for example, has dedicated about US$3 billion to stem cell research over the next decade. The problem with the private money is that it won't continue at this rate for an indefinite period. So you need federal or other funding to come in.
• Italy : a law approved in December 2003 : bans any testing of embryos for research and experimental purposes, freezing embryos or embryo suppression, and forbids preimplantation diagnosis for preventing genetically transmitted diseases. It also prohibits donor insemination, limits fertility treatment to stable, heterosexual couples, and states that no more than 3 cells may be fertilized in vitro and that they must be transferred into the womb simultaneously. Such tight restrictions, however, have not prevented a series of "test-tube mix-ups" at fertility centers in recent months. In one case, 2 women had to be prescribed the morning-after pill because each had been inseminated with the wrong man's sperm. But Sirchia's real problems began this week, after he announced the outcome of an innovative stem cell transplant, carried out at the San Matteo Hospital in Pavia, which cured a five-year-old boy of thalassemia. The new therapy involved using cells from the placenta of both of the boy's recently born twin brothers. While reporting on the "historic outcome" at a press conference, Sirchia did not mention that the twin brothers were designer babies, born healthy thanks to preimplantation screening and assisted reproduction carried out at a fertility center in Istanbul, Turkey. The stem cell transplant can be done, with lower probabilities, with donors born following a natural birth. Sirchia allocated 400,000 euros for 2004 to the transplant transfusion and immunology centre of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan–an organization with which the minister has had very close bounds- for the conservation of 31,000 frozen "orphan" embryos. The center in question opened when Sirchia worked with transplants, he was head of the department for about 28 years. The amount of money given to the center is huge. The main cost for embryo conservation is that one of liquid azote, which costs only 50 cents per litre. In a statement, Sirchia explained that the money would cover not only the cost of liquid azote, but also "the complex organization of such a center and embryo transport from centers across the country to Milan
• Vatican City : as the Catholic church holds its World Meeting of Families in Valencia, Spain, some will be watching to see if Pope Benedict XVI supports the excommunication of those working with ESCs. Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo's recent comments on stem-cell work have jolted the scientific world, along with some Catholics. "Destroying an embryo is equivalent to abortion," Trujillo, a Colombian who heads the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family, told Italy's leading Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana in an interview published 2 July. Excommunication is valid for the women, the doctors and researchers who destroy embryos. The church currently threatens excommunication for women and medical personnel who participate in abortions. But Trujillo's is the first public statement from a top Vatican official calling for the excommunication of Catholic scientists who destroy embryos. It is unclear whether Trujillo also meant to include scientists who work with embryo-derived stem cells. The pope would have to endorse any move to change the church's Code of Canon Law. Pope Benedict probably supports the substance of Trujillo's comments, buthe would not be quick to codify this into Canon Law. Anyway the statement is unofficial. I don't think it should be further inflated before there is an official statement from the Vatican. The Church will not go so far in any statement against stem cell researchers. Rapid progress in molecular biology and stem-cell reprogramming are challenging the traditional definitions of the beginning of human life, he notes. "For the Catholic Church this is a unique opportunity to demonstrate that it can still provide moral leadership in complex issues of modern society. To live up to this challenge takes more than mediaeval castigatory statements. Carlos Bedate, molecular biologist at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain - and a Jesuit priest - thinks that Trujillo meant his comments to include all researchers working with embryonic stem cells. But the Church may soon change its views on the beginnings of life. Trujillo is only one person and the church leadership is the hands of the Pope and many other hands. I don't think his statement is the final statement. Porter, however, thinks any softening in the church's opposition "highly unlikely". For many, any Church decision, even by the Pope, will not make much difference. Cesare Galli of the Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies in Cremona, Italy, was educated as a Catholic and was the first scientist to clone a horse. "I don't think scientists involved with embryonic stem-cell research would care if they are excommunicated or not

Web resources :
• Jean Porter
• Oliver Brüstle
• 29 countries allow stem cell work (in 2004 China, Japan, Singapore, France and Spain entered this list)
• Singapore parliament on Thursday, September 2, 2004 passed a new law drawn up by the health ministry, which prohibits reproductive cloning^ref. Crucially for the country's life sciences community, the law does not forbid cell nuclear transfer for the purposes of developing stem cells. The health ministry introduced the draft law in May this year, saying that it was taking a step-by-step approach to regulating biomedical research. The first step is the "Human cloning and other prohibited practices bill," which imposes a fine of up to SGD $100,000 (USD $58,700) or 10 years in prison, or both. The bill prohibits the placing of any cloned human embryos in bodies of humans or animals. There are also prohibitions on the import or export of any cloned embryos and the commercial trading of human eggs, human sperm and human embryos. The legislation also forbids the developing of human embryos created by means other than fertilization for more than 14 days, and forbids researchers from developing human embryos outside the body of a woman for more than 14 days. The 14-day cut-off leaves plenty of time for the derivation of stem cells. Beyond 14 days you see the start of the primitive streak development : for harvesting stem cells you only need 4, 5, or 6 days after fertilization or nuclear transfer.
• Spain : embryo research has been permitted in Spain since July 2003, when the previous government approved legislative reforms related to human assisted reproduction. The changes allowed research on embryos leftover from in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments, but did not include specific mechanisms for permitting scientists to apply to undertake projects. Under the October 29 2004 Royal Decree approved by the new Socialist government, embryos created by IVF will only be available for research use if they have been frozen for more than 5 years and if the couple involved explicitly authorizes their use for this purpose. Couples who chose to allow their embryos to be used in this way will sign an informed consent form and grant permission for a specific research project. They will not be eligible for remuneration and will have not rights to subsequent patents.
• Asia : the United Kingdom considers itself a leader in the stem cell research field, but some of the country's scientists fear that lead could be squandered due to inadequate funding. In recent days, a group of financial figures and researchers announced plans to establish a £100 million (USD $187.3 million) public–private foundation with the aim of shoring up funding in the area^ref. In September 2004, the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) sent a group of leading figures from the field of stem cell science on a 2-week trip to the China (Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai), South Korea (Woo Suk Hwang's lab at the National University and the Stem Cell Research Centre), and Singapore (Biopolis) to assess the quality of science being done and to evaluate possible commercial opportunities : stem cell research was impressive^ref.
• new human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines, SNUhES1, SNUhES2, and SNUhES3, established from the inner cell mass using an STO feeder layer, satisfy the criteria that characterize pluripotent hESCs: The cell lines express high levels of alkaline phosphatase, cell surface markers (such as SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, and TRA-1-81), transcription factor Oct-4, and telomerase. When grafted into severe combined immunodeficient mice after prolonged proliferation, these cells maintained the developmental potentials to form derivatives of all three embryonic germ layers. The cell lines have normal karyotypes and distinct identities, revealed from DNA fingerprinting. Interestingly, analysis by electron microscopy clearly shows the morphological difference between undifferentiated and differentiated hESCs. Undifferentiated hESCs have a high ratio of nucleus to cytoplasm, prominent nucleoli, indistinct cell membranes, free ribosomes, and small mitochondria with a few crista, whereas differentiated cells retain irregular nuclear morphology, desmosomes, extensive cytoplasmic membranes, tonofilaments, and highly developed cellular organelles such as Golgi complex with secretory vesicles, endoplasmic reticulum studded with ribosomes, and large mitochondria. Existence of desmosomes and tonofilaments indicates that these cells differentiated into epithelial cells. When in vitro differentiation potentials of these cell lines into cardiomyocytes were examined, SNUhES3 was found to differentiate into cardiomyocytes most effectively^ref.
• from foetal tissues
• fetal liver hematopoietic stem cell (FL HSC) : CD11b / Mac-1⁺AA4.2⁺, most are long-term reconstituting HSCs (LT-HSC), but they cycle more rapidly than adult LT-HSCs. They can generate B-1a B cells, Vg3⁺ and Vg4⁺gd T cells, too. Unlike adult common myeloid progenitor (CMP), FL CMP, but not FL granulocyte-monocyte progenitor (GMP) or FL megakaryocyte-erythrocyte progenitor (MEP), give rise to B c