iPSCs derived from infertile men carrying complex genetic abnormalities can generate primordial germ-like cells

Abstract

Despite increasing insight into the genetics of infertility, the developmental disease processes remain unclear due to the lack of adequate experimental models. The advent of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology has provided a unique tool for in vitro disease modeling enabling major advances in our understanding of developmental disease processes. We report the full characterization of complex genetic abnormalities in two infertile patients with either azoospermia or XX male syndrome and we identify genes of potential interest implicated in their infertility. Using the erythroblasts of both patients, we generated primed iPSCs and converted them into a naive-like pluripotent state. Naive-iPSCs were then differentiated into primordial germ-like cells (PGC-LCs). The expression of early PGC marker genes SOX17, CD-38, NANOS3, c-KIT, TFAP2C, and D2-40, confirmed progression towards the early germline stage. Our results demonstrate that iPSCs from two infertile patients with significant genetic abnormalities are capable of efficient production of PGCs. Such in vitro model of infertility will certainly help identifying causative factors leading to early germ cells development failure and provide a valuable tool to explore novel therapeutic strategies.

Improved Neural Inductivity of Size-Controlled 3D Human Embryonic Stem Cells Using Magnetic Nanoparticles

“…In order to investigate neural inductivity analyzing mRNA expression, quantified reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted. Total RNA was extracted with TRIzol RNA Isolation Reagents (Invitrogen), according to the manufacturer’s instructions [ 16 ]. After centrifugation, the collected cells were lysed with TRIzol solution and then incubated for 5 min at room temperature.…”

“…Therefore, generation of human embryoid bodies (hEBs), the 3-dimensional (3D) organization of hESCs, is suggested as a promising method to regulate the hESCs differentiation [ 12 – 14 ]. Since the hEBs are produced to mimic the biological niche during embryonic development, hESCs in the form of hEBs spontaneously lose self-renewal ability and differentiate [ 15 , 16 ].…”