Isolation and Culture of Porcine Embryonic Stem Cells

Abstract

Despite their agricultural and biomedical importance, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are yet to be isolated for the pig or the domestic ungulates in general. This suggests that methods which have been used successfully in mice may not be applicable to these. In this chapter we describe a new method for the isolation of porcine ESCs. This method differs from those described previously in that it produces homogeneous outgrowths from undifferentiated inner cell mass cells when embryos are plated onto inactivated mouse embryonic feeder layers.

Initial Characterization of 3D Culture of Yolk Sac Tissue

“…To determine the most suitable culture medium for each species, we evaluated eight distinct expansion media. The choice of growth factors and supplements for each medium was informed by previous studies on trophoblast organoid development across different species [23,24], and factors present during early gestation and the initial third of gestation in the three target species [24][25][26][27].…”

Generation of liver-specific TGF-α/<i>c</i>-Myc-overexpressing porcine induced pluripotent stem-like cells and blastocyst formation using nuclear transfer

“…Embryonic stem (ES) cells have been used extensively for creating transgenic mice, and the use of ES cells allowed for easy DNA manipulation through the insertion of transgenes [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Several attempts have been made to generate ES-like cells in porcine, with limited success [ 9 , 10 , 23 ]. Owing to the undefined condition of undifferentiated ES cells and their limited capacity of expansion, the somatic cell nuclear transfer method has been used for generating transgenic pigs [ 1 ].…”