利用雄性生殖细胞建立转基因动物的研究进展

随着科学研究的不断深入及临床治疗的需要,人们对转基因动物的需求越来越大;但是传统的转基因动物技术大多操作复杂、成本高、效率低,从而限制了转基因技术的广泛应用。利用雄性生殖细胞作为载体介导外源基因导入受精卵来建立转基因动物具有操作简便、经济、易于推广的优点,发展前景广阔。该文就利用雄性生殖细胞建立转基因动物的发展历程和方法进行系统的阐述和分析。从利用精子和精原干细胞携带外源DNA两个方向展开,分别分析和评价了恒温共孵育法、脂质体介导法、电穿孔法、胞浆内单精子注射法、输精管注射法、体外转染精原干细胞法以及体内转染精原干细胞法七种实验设计方法。     

利用精原干细胞法生产转基因动物的研究进展

综述了利用精原干细胞生产转基因动物的发展历程、方法以及最新研究进展.重点从精原干细胞移植法和曲细精管微注射法两个方面,系统分析了利用精原干细胞生产转基因动物的优缺点,以及当前存在的问题.     

一种简便的小鼠精原干细胞分离培养方法

采用一步酶消化法分离小鼠精原干细胞,比较α-MEM、DMEM培养基对体外培养的精原干细胞生长状态的影响,对精原干细胞集落进行形态观察、碱性磷酸酶(alkaline phosphatase,AKP)染色和免疫组化鉴定,并诱导精原干细胞向精子细胞分化。结果显示,以小鼠胚胎成纤维细胞作为饲养层,用α-MEM培养的精原干细胞集落较大且呈葡萄串状或念珠状,细胞状态较好;小鼠精原干细胞集落的AKP染色阳性呈紫红色;在红色荧光下精原干细胞集落的Oct-4核蛋白表达为阳性、膜蛋白c-Kit、β_1-integrin和Gfrα-1表达为阳性;精原干细胞经维甲酸(all-trans-retinoic-acid,RA)诱导可初步分化成精子样细胞。因此,采用一步酶消化法能够分离小鼠精原干细胞,α-MEM更适合小鼠精原干细胞体外培养。     

大鼠精原干细胞的高效分离和纯化方法

精原干细胞是精子发生的基础,是永久分化成精子的克隆源,它既可以自我更新维持体内干细胞的数量,又可以增殖分化形成各阶段的生精细胞直至成熟精子。本文以22～25日龄Wistar-Iamichi大鼠为研究对象,利用两步酶消化法分离得到睾丸曲细精管细胞悬液,根据精原干细胞与曲细精管细胞悬液中体细胞(支持细胞及少量的管周细胞)及各级分化的生精细胞贴壁能力及对细胞外基质粘附力的不同,将大鼠精原干细胞进行纯化。经纯化后,5只大鼠的睾丸可以得到约3×10~5个精原干细胞,该精原干细胞在体外培养可形成克隆,并且该克隆可表达精原干细胞特异的标记基因GFRα1和CDH1。本文所介绍的高效分离和纯化大鼠精原干细胞的方法,操作简便,且得到的精原干细胞具有很高的活力和增殖能力,该方法为今后大鼠精原干细胞的长期培养及操作研究奠定了基础。     

哺乳动物精原干细胞的操作技术及应用

精原干细胞(spermatogonial stem cells,SSCs)具有高度的自我更新能力和分化潜能。精原干细胞移植技术作为精原干细胞研究的重要手段,已成为一种新兴的动物繁殖技术,能够提高雄性动物的生殖能力。该技术是从适龄雄性供体动物中采集精原干细胞,注射入受体动物的生精小管中使其产生精子。通过对精原干细胞的体外培养、遗传修饰及移植等操作,可以为探讨精子的发生机制、重建不育个体的精子发生、生产转基因动物提供新的途径;同时为提高优良品种家畜的生产效率、保护野生动物资源及不育症的治疗提供了一种新的方法;在医学、生物学及动物科学方面有着广泛地应用。通过对培养体系的不断完善,筛选、移植方法的不断改进,可获得更高的移植成功率。本文将从利用精原干细胞法生产转基因动物的优势,精原干细胞的形态特性和增殖分化特性,精原干细胞的移植技术和影响移植效率的关键因素,精原干细胞的体外培养,以及相关操作技术的应用与前景展望等方面做一概述。     

精原干细胞与睾丸生殖衰老的研究进展

雄性睾丸内精子的生成及其质量随年龄增长逐渐降低。精原干细胞是精子生成的起点,其数量和质量决定了精子的生成,而精原干细胞niche是调节精原干细胞自我更新与分化的重要因素。在衰老过程中,干细胞微环境退化,精原干细胞自我更新和分化失衡,被认为是衰老导致睾丸生殖功能衰退的的主要因素。本文将综述衰老引起的精原干细胞与niche变化及其对生殖的影响相关研究进展。     

不同日龄巴马小型猪睾丸内精原干细胞的鉴定

精原干细胞的鉴定对于精原干细胞的体外研究非常重要。本研究证明1月龄巴马小型猪睾丸没有启动精子的发育,而2月龄的巴马小型猪已经启动了精子发育,在其精细小管中发现了精子细胞和精子。免疫荧光染色的结果证明1月龄巴马小型猪精原干细胞表达UCHL1,可以与植物凝集素DBA结合,个别的精原干细胞表达CDH1,但不表达C-KIT。2月龄巴马小型猪精原干细胞只表达UCHL1,不表达CDH1和C-KIT,也不能与DBA结合。这些生物标志物的发现为体外培养的精原干细胞的鉴定奠定了基础。     

精原干细胞介导的基因编辑动物模型研究进展

合适的动物模型对于人类疾病的研究和药物开发至关重要。精原干细胞是位于睾丸组织曲细精管基底膜上的一类具有自我更新和分化潜能的成体干细胞,可以定向分化产生精子。利用精原干细胞作为基因编辑的对象,生产基因编辑的精子进行受精有望成为建立基因编辑动物疾病模型的一条有效途径。该文就精原干细胞的生物学特征、体外培养以及精原干细胞介导的基因编辑动物模型的进展和优缺点进行了阐述。     

转基因动物技术的研究进展及应用

文章综述了转基因动物的制作的主要方法及其优缺点,包括显微原核注射法、逆转录病毒感染法、胚胎干细胞介导法、体细胞核移植技术、精子载体法、胞浆内单精子注射法以及卵母细胞载体法等。阐述了转基因动物技术在人类疾病模型、生产人体器官、动物反应器和改良动物品种及其生产性能等方面的应用,并提出转基因动物技术存在的一些技术难题和安全性问题。     

睾丸组织块和精原干细胞异种移植的发展及现状

精原干细胞是精子发生的前提和基础,精原干细胞的存在为男性保存和恢复生育能力提供了可能.精原干细胞和睾丸组织移植技术已经被用来研究生精细胞的增殖与分化,这项技术对恢复无精子症或睾丸肿瘤患者的生育能力等有着重要的应用前景.综述了睾丸组织块和精原干细胞的移植技术的发展、现状及在医学领域的应用前景.     

浅谈精原干细胞研究进展

精原干细胞是雄性动物体内精子发生过程中起重要作用的精原细胞类型,不但具有干细胞特性,还能定向分化为雄性配子将自身基因传递给后代。除此之外,体外培养和鉴定精原干细胞为移植和转基因提供了基础。我们对精原干细胞的生物学特性、分离培养、鉴定、移植及精原干细胞介导的转基因进行简要概述。     

精原干细胞技术研究进展

精原干细胞(spermatogonial stem cells,SSCs)是位于睾丸曲细精管基膜上能自我更新和连续分化产生精子的最原始精原细胞,是雄性体内唯一能将遗传信息自然传至子代并可终生复制的双倍体细胞,对复杂的精子发生过程有着至关重要的作用。作为一个未分化细胞群体,SSCs在精子生成和物种进化所必需的基因传递中发挥作用。基于课题组多年的研究,该文较系统地评述了SSCs的生物学特性、分离富集、体外培养影响因素和移植技术等方面的进展,以期对雄性辅助生殖、细胞再生治疗、畜牧业生产等研究应用提供借鉴。     

Commitment of fetal male germ cells to spermatogonial stem cells during mouse embryonic development

The continuous production of mammalian sperm is maintained by the proliferation and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells that originate from primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the early embryo. Although spermatogonial stem cells arise from PGCs, it is not clear whether fetal male germ cells function as spermatogonial stem cells able to produce functional sperm. In the present study, we examined the timing and mechanisms of the commitment of fetal germ cells to differentiate into spermatogonial stem cells by transplantation techniques. Transplantation of fetal germ cells into the seminiferous tubules of adult testis showed that donor germ cells, at 14.5 days postcoitum (dpc), were able to initiate spermatogenesis in the adult recipient seminiferous tubules, whereas no germ cell differentiation was observed in the transplantation of 12.5-dpc germ cells. These results indicate that the commitment of fetal germ cells to differentiate into spermatogonial stem cells initiates between embryonic days 12.5 and 14.5. Furthermore, the results suggest the importance of the interaction between germ cells and somatic cells in the determination of fetal germ cell differentiation into spermatogonial stem cells, as normal spermatogenesis was observed when a 12.5-dpc whole gonad was transplanted into adult recipient testis. In addition, sperm obtained from the 12.5- dpc male gonadal explant had the ability to develop normally if injected into the cytoplasm of oocytes, indicating that normal development of fetal germ cells in fetal gonadal explant occurred in the adult testicular environment.     

Stra 8基因的激活与精原干细胞的特异性分化研究

视黄酸对维持正常的雄性睾丸结构和功能起着重要的作用。近来的研究发现,在雄性生殖腺发育过程中有一组基因,它们可以被视黄酸特异性的诱导活化,称为Stra(Stimulated by Retinoic Acid)基因。从鼠源分离得到的Stra8基因编码一种细胞质蛋白,该基因只特异性的在成熟雄性生殖细胞中表达,其功能被认为与精子形成有关。为研究Stra8基因的表达特性,我们从小鼠的基因组中克隆了Stra8基因的启动子序列(1.4kb)。将Stra8基因的1.4kb启动子序列克隆到pEGFP-1载体的EGFP基因之前,构建成由Stra8基因1.4kb启动子序列调控表达绿色荧光蛋白的pStra8-EGFP载体。将其分别转化到不同类型的细胞中,如小鼠ES-129细胞、人胎儿胰腺干细胞、小鼠骨髓间充质干细胞和小鼠精原干细胞等,通过荧光显微镜观察发现,绿色荧光蛋白只在小鼠精原干细胞中表达,表明Stra8基因是组织特异性表达的基因。将pStra8-EGFP转化小鼠骨髓间充质干细胞,经G418筛选2周后,用视黄酸诱导,12h培养后,有一部分转化pStra8-EGFP载体的细胞表达绿色荧光蛋白。RT-PCR证明这些细胞中有精原干细胞特异表达基因Stra8的转录,还有生殖细胞特异表达基因CyclinA8和Oct4的转录,这些结果说明小鼠骨髓间充质细胞经视黄酸的诱导可以向生殖细胞方向分化。     

Characteristics of rat round spermatids differentiated from spermatogonial cells during co-culture with Sertoli cells, assessed by flow cytometry, microinsemination and RT-PCR

The present study was undertaken to investigate whether rat spermatogonial stem cells can differentiate into developmentally competent round spermatids during co-culture with Sertoli cells. Type-A spermatogonia and Sertoli cells were prepared from 7-d-old Wistar-strain male rats, and seeded at 4 x 10(6) cells/ 4 mL/35-mm dish (Day 0). They were co-cultured at 37 degrees C for 3 d and at 34 degrees C for the subsequent 7d in 5% CO(2)/air. Round spermatid-like cells (approximately 15 microm in diameter) were first observed on Day 5. A flow cytometric analysis showed that a single peak of haploid cells was detected in the cell populations harvested on Day 10. The participation of the spermatid-like cells to full-term development was examined by microinjection into activated oocytes. The oviductal transfer of 143 microinseminated oocytes resulted in only 8 implantation sites (6%), but no viable offspring. The expression of the round spermatid-specific marker gene, PRM-2, was confirmed in the Day 10 cell population by RT-PCR; however, no mRNA of two other haploid makers, TP1 or TP2, was detected. These results suggested that rat type-A spermatogonial cells underwent meiosis during the primary co-culture with the Sertoli cells, based on morphology, flow cytometry and PRM-2 expression, but the normality of the spermatid-like cells was not supported by microinsemination and TP1/2 expression.     

Role of Src family kinases and N-Myc in spermatogonial stem cell proliferation

Spermatogonial stem cells are required for the initiation of spermatogenesis and the continuous production of sperm. In addition, they can acquire pluripotency and differentiate into derivatives of the three embryonic germ layers when cultured in the appropriate conditions. Therefore, understanding the signaling pathways that lead to self-renewal or differentiation of these cells is of paramount importance for the treatment of infertility, the development of male contraceptives, the treatment of testicular cancers, and ultimately for tissue regeneration. In this report, we studied some of the signaling pathways triggered by glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a component of the spermatogonial stem cell niche produced by the somatic Sertoli cells. As model systems, we used primary cultures of mouse spermatogonial stem cells, a mouse spermatogonial stem cell line and freshly isolated testicular tubules. We report here that GDNF promotes spermatogonial stem cell proliferation through activation of members of the Src kinase family, and that these kinases exert their action through a PI3K/Akt-dependent pathway to up-regulate N-myc expression. Thus, to proliferate, spermatogonial stem cells activate mechanisms that are similar to the processes observed in brain stem cells and lung progenitors.     

Is there a clinical future for spermatogonial stem cells?

Like every other adult stem cell in the human body, spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) have the capacity to either renew themselves or to start the differentiation process, namely, spermatogenesis. Due to the continuation of the stem cell population in the testis, several possible options for preservation and re-establishment of the reproductive potential exist. Currently, spermatogonial stem cell transplantation (SSCT) is considered the most promising tool for fertility restoration in young cancer patients. This technique involves the injection of a testicular cell suspension from a fertile donor into the testis of an infertile recipient. Although, SSCT could prove important for fertility preservation, this technique is not without any risk. Testicular cell suspensions from cancer patients may be contaminated with cancerous cells. It is obvious that reintroduction of malignant cells into an otherwise cured patient must be omitted. Decontamination strategies to solve this problem are discussed. Another alternative to preserve male fertility could be in-vitro culture of SSCs. This approach may be applied to generate spermatozoa in-vitro from cultured spermatogonial stem cells, which, in turn, could be used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Xenogeneic transplantation and xenografting are two other hypothetical methods to preserve fertility. However, because of the ethical and biological concerns inherent to these approaches, xenogeneic transplantation and xenografting should be limited to research. When SSCT or SSC culture becomes available for clinical use, efficient protocols for the cryopreservation of SSCs and testicular tissue will be of great benefit. The search for an optimal freezing protocol is discussed. Apart from fertility preservation, SSC studies are useful for other applications as well, such as transgenerational gene therapy and cell-based organ regeneration therapy.     

Genetic selection of mouse male germline stem cells in vitro: offspring from single stem cells

Spermatogenesis originates from a small population of spermatogonial stem cells. These cells are believed to divide infinitely and support spermatogenesis throughout life in the male. In this investigation, we examined the possibility of deriving transgenic offspring from single spermatogonial stem cells. Spermatogonial stem cells were transfected in vitro with a plasmid vector containing a drug resistant gene. Stably transfected stem cell clones were isolated by in vitro drug selection; these clones were expanded and used to produce transgenic progeny following spermatogonial transplantation into infertile recipients. An average of 49% of the offspring carried the transgene, and the recipient mice continued to produce monoclonal transgenic progeny a year after transplantation. Thus, a somatic cell-based genetic approach can be used to modify and select clones of spermatogonial stem cells in a manner similar to embryonic stem cells. The feasibility of genetic selection using postnatal spermatogonial stem cells demonstrates their extensive proliferative potential and provides the opportunity to develop new methods for generating stable animal transgenics or for germline gene therapy.     

Transfecting human neural stem cells with the Amaxa Nucleofector

Transfection of primary mammalian neural cells, such as human neural stem/precursor cells (hNSPCs), with commonly used cationic lipid transfection reagents has often resulted in poor cell viability and low transfection efficiency. Other mechanical methods of introducing a gene of interest, such as a "gene gun" or microinjection, are also limited by poor cell viability and low numbers of transfected cells. The strategy of using viral constructs to introduce an exogenous gene into primary cells has been constrained by both the amount of time and labor required to create viral vectors and potential safety concerns. We describe here a step-by-step protocol for transfecting hNSPCs using Amaxa's Nucleofector device and technology with electrical current parameters and buffer solutions specifically optimized for transfecting neural stem cells. Using this protocol, we have achieved initial transfection efficiencies of ~35% and ~70% after stable transfection. The protocol entails combining a high number of hNSPCs with the DNA to be transfected in the appropriate buffer followed by electroporation with the Nucleofector device.