The pluripotency homeobox gene NANOG is expressed in human germ cell tumors

Abstract

We describe a case of symptomatic common femoral artery stenosis following use of a vascular clip closure device (StarClose). Operative repair was performed, with removal of the clip device and subsequent vein patch angioplasty. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Pluripotency of Male Germline Stem Cells

“…It is believed that SSCs are the only cell type in adults that transcriptionally expresses both Oct4 and Sox2. The homeobox gene Nanog appears to be a determining factor, as it is silenced in SSCs at both the transcriptional and translational levels (Hart et al, 2005;Yamaguchi et al, 2005).…”

The DLK1-MEG3 locus in malignant cells of proposed primordial germ cell origins.

“…This would be surprising given that the IGF2-H19 locus is responsible for the quiescence of HSCs and that maternal H19 deletion promotes the growth of teratomas. However, the role of H19 in maintaining the expression of pluripotency markers in EC cells, which may be the stem cell responsible for certain types of GCTs ( Figure 5C), suggests that this imprinting pattern may be important for GCT development [18,43].…”

“…PGCs, while not inherently pluripotent, are able to acquire pluripotency upon transformation into embryonic germ cells (EGCs) in vitro, and a developmental fork in the road has been proposed for the controlled and malignant paths to pluripotency by PGCs ( Figure 5B) [51]. Importantly, studies in testicular GCTs (TGCTs) have resulted in models which place EC as the precursor cells to more differentiated TGCTs ( Figure 5C) [43]. Indeed, EC is considered the malignant counterpart to ESCs and the stem-like cells of teratocarcinomas [30].…”

“…Interestingly, the expression dynamics observed in cells from tumor bulk and low-passage cell lines has also been observed in an established cell line, questioning the usefulness of these cells in tumor models [74]. imprinted genes is related to this phenomenon [18,43].…”

“…As an established EC cell line derived from this xenograft, NTera2 thus exemplifies the heterogeneity of cancerous tissues. Similarly, as the pluripotent stem-like cells of teratocarcinomas which may give rise to other TGCTs, EC cells such as NTera2 represent an interesting model for studying the nature of putative CSC populations [43].…”