Evaluation of developmental competence of vitrified-warmed early cleavage stage embryos and their application for chimeric mouse production.

The developmental competence of in vitro cultured embryos vitrified-warmed at an early cleavage stage (2- or 4, 8-cell stage) was examined by both direct transfer into recipient animals and after in vitro manipulation for chimeric mice production using embryonic stem (ES) cells. Vitrified-warmed embryos transferred at the morulae and blastocyst stages showed fetus development comparable to control embryos, although blastocyst development of vitrified-warmed embryos was significantly slower than that of controls. When vitrified-warmed early cleavage stage embryos were used for chimeric mouse production using ES cells, 1 to 10% of the injected or aggregated embryos developed into chimeric neonates and germ-line chimeric mice were obtained from all ES cell lines. This study indicates that embryos developed in vitro from vitrified-warmed embryos have equivalent competence with unvitrified embryos irrespective of stage of vitrification and that these vitrified-warmed embryos maintain adequate viability even after in vitro manipulation such as aggregation and microinjection with ES cells.     

Studies on Two Factors Affecting the Production of Germline Chimeras by Using HM 1 Cells

ＥＳ细胞系统与基因定位致变相结合,进行基因敲除（ｋｎｏｃｋｏｕｔ）已成为研究基因在生物体内功能的重要手段。在ＥＳ细胞系的建立、外源基因导入ＥＳ细胞、种系嵌合鼠的获得等三个重要环节中,种系嵌合鼠的获得是最关键的一环。由于ＥＳ细胞系统技术复杂、实验条件要求很高,尽管国际上已报导了上百例的基因敲除（ｋｎｏｃｋｏｕｔ）实验,但是到目前为止,我国还无一例在国内条件下获得种系嵌合鼠的正式报道。本研究对影响种系嵌合鼠获得的两种因素（饲养层细胞、受体胚胎种类）进行了比较研究,成功地获得了种系嵌合鼠。将ＨＭ１细胞在ＳＴＯ或ＭＥＦ培养层上培养至２１３３代,注射到不同小鼠的囊胚里,经过恢复培养,移植到假孕的昆明白雌鼠子宫内。由于ＨＭ１细胞来源于粟色的的１２９品系,而胚胎供体鼠的毛色为黑或白色,仔鼠出生一周后即可辨别是否为毛色嵌合鼠。用成年嵌合鼠与其受体胚胎相同品系的小鼠交配,进行种系嵌合鼠鉴定。曾有报导：ＳＴＯ培养层会导致ＥＳ细胞发生核变。我们改用ＭＥＦ培养层,获得嵌合鼠的比率高达４８．６％（Ｔａｂｌｅ１）。不同小鼠胚胎之间存在差异,Ｃ５７ＢＬ／６Ｊ、ＩＣＲ和昆明白三者提供的受体胚胎产生嵌合鼠的比率分别为７１．４％、５５％     

Embryonic stem cells stably transfected with mRAR beta 2-lacZ exhibit specific expression in chimeric embryos.

Using the embryonic stem (ES) cell/chimera approach, we have studied the activity of the mouse retinoic acid receptor beta 2 (mRAR beta 2) promoter during ES cell differentiation and during embryonic development. Stable ES clones were isolated after introduction of a 1.8 kb mRAR beta 2-lacZ expression cassette. LacZ expression in these stable clones was specifically induced by retinoic acid (RA) in a similar fashion as the endogenous RAR beta 2 gene. Following introduction of three different ES clones into blastocysts, an integration-independent mRAR beta 2-lacZ expression pattern was obtained in chimeric embryos similar to that described by in situ hybridization and transgenic studies. Moreover, mRAR beta 2-lacZ expression was also detected at some additional sites not described before, e.g. body wall, ureter, mesonephric duct and optic stalk. Maternal RA administration at 8.5 days of pregnancy extended lacZ expression to more anterior and posterior regions. Transgenic mice were generated from germ-line transmission of the transfected ES cells; expression pattern and changes in expression upon RA induction in these transgenic embryos were identical to those in chimeric embryos. We conclude that by using the ES/chimera approach, the proximal 1.8 kb of the mRAR beta 2 promoter produces a reliable and reproducible expression pattern of the reporter gene, and that the ES cell/chimera approach is invaluable for the study of gene expression and regulation.     

Increasing the cell number of host tetraploid embryos can improve the production of mice derived from embryonic stem cells

Tetraploid (4n) embryo complementation assay has shown that embryonic stem (ES) cells alone are capable of supporting embryonic development (ES mouse), allowing the recovery of mouse lines directly from cultured ES cell lines. Although the advantages of this technique are well recognized, it remains inefficient for generating ES mice. In the present study, we investigated the effects of cell number of host 4n embryos on the production of ES mice. Four independent ES cell lines (two general ES cell lines and two nuclear transfer-derived ES cell lines) were used, and each cell line was aggregated with single (1x) to triple (3x) host 4n embryos. We found that birth rate of ES mice using 1x 4n embryos was quite low (0-2%) regardless of cell line, whereas except for one cell line, approximately 6-14% of embryos developed to full term in the case of 3x 4n embryos. Contamination of host 4n cells in ES mice was quite rare, being comparable to that generated using general methods even if they were delivered from 3x 4n host embryos. These results demonstrate that the use of 3x 4n embryos is effective for generating ES mice. Our technique described here will be applicable to any ES cell line, including general ES cell lines used for gene targeting.     

Derivation and comparison of C57BL/6 embryonic stem cells to a widely used 129 embryonic stem cell line

Typically, embryonic stem (ES) cells derived from 129 mouse substrains are used to generate genetically altered mouse models. Resulting chimeric mice were then usually converted to a C57BL/6 background, which takes at least a year, even in the case of speed congenics. In recent years, embryonic stem cells have been derived from various mouse strains. However, 129 ES cells are still widely used partially due to poor germline transmission of ES cells derived from other strains. Availability of highly germline-competent C57BL/6 ES cells would enormously facilitate generation of genetically altered mice in a pure C57BL/6 genetic background by eliminating backcrossing time, and thus significantly reducing associated costs and efforts. Here, we describe establishment of a C57BL/6 ES cell line (LK1) and compare its efficacy to a widely used 129SvJ ES cell line (GSI-1) in generating germline chimeras. In contrast to earlier studies, our data shows that highly germline-competent C57BL/6 ES cell lines can be derived using a simple approach, and thus support broader use of C57BL/6 ES cell lines for genetically engineered mouse models. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Simple and efficient production of mice derived from embryonic stem cells aggregated with tetraploid embryos

Six newly derived hybrid mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell lines and two inbred ES cell lines were tested for their ability to produce completely ES cell-derived mice by aggregation of ES cells with tetraploid embryos. Forty-five ES cell-tetraploid pups were generated from six hybrid ES cell lines and no pups from two inbred ES cell lines. These pups were found to have increased embryonic and placental weights than control mice. Twenty-two pups survived to adulthood and produced normal offsprings, and the other 23 pups died of several reasons including respiratory distress, abdomen ulcer-like symptoms, and foster failure. The 22 adult ES cell-tetraploid mice were completely ES cell-derived as judged by coat color and germline transmission, only two of them was found to have tetraploid component in liver, blood, and lung as analyzed by microsatellite loci. Our data suggested that genetic heterozygosity is a crucial factor for postnatal survival of ES cell-tetraploid mice, and tetraploid embryo aggregation using hybrid ES cells is a simple and efficient procedure for immediate generation of targeted mouse mutants from genetically modified ES cell clones, in contrast to the standard protocol, which involves the production of chimeras and several breeding steps.     

Cloned transgenic mouse fetuses from embryonic stem cells

Development of efficient efficient system for genetic modification and large-scale cloning of livestock is of importance for agriculture, biotechnology, or human medicine. The mouse, on the other hand, is an ideal model in the basic studies of genetic modification. In this study, we investigated about production of clone mice from established embryonic stem (ES) cell line by nuclear transfer. Further, we had try of production of cloned transgenic mouse fetuses/offspring using ES cells modified with a marker gene, EGFP. With the ES cell line TT2 which is at least 15 passages, reconstructed oocytes developed to 2-8 cell embryos, morulae, or blastocysts (44.8%), and 17.2% of them developed to term (19.5 days post-coitum, dpc). When 40 embryos with the marker gene transferred to 11 surrogate mothers (pseudopregnant females), 5 live fetuses were recognized in the uteli at 13.5 dpc and in these fetuses expression of GFP was observed, but none developed beyond 19.5 dpc. The present results suggest that ES cells can be used tg produce cloned mice.     

四倍体补偿技术的建立及其应用

常规基因剔除小鼠的获得主要是利用ES细胞的全能性先获得嵌合体小鼠,再利用:ES细胞的生殖系传递能力,通过嵌合体与野生型小鼠的交配获得杂合子小鼠.而四倍体补偿技术则可绕过嵌合体小鼠阶段,直接获得基因修饰杂合子小鼠.利用电融合技术和Piezoelectric microinjecfion显微注射技术建立了四倍体补偿技术,小鼠四倍体胚胎的获得率(电融合率)为(93.01±l.37)%,经体外培养囊胚形成率为(82.49±2.08)%.通过显微注射方法将2种129品系小鼠来源的ES细胞(CJ7和SCR012)注射到四倍体囊胚腔中,获得了完全ES细胞来源的小鼠,ES鼠的获得率分别为2.7%和8.3%.经微卫星DNA检测,成体小鼠的10个被检测组织均为129小鼠来源的.同时,也利用基因修饰的ES细胞进行了研究,获得了2种基因修饰的完全ES细胞来源的杂合子小鼠,部分小鼠具有繁殖能力,经繁育已获得了纯合子,其中凝血因子Ⅷ基因敲除小鼠获得了预期的血友病小鼠表型.上述结果说明四倍体补偿技术可应用于基因修饰小鼠的制备.     

Production of live calves derived from embryonic stem-like cells aggregated with tetraploid embryos

To date, cloned farm animals have been produced by nuclear transfer from embryonic, fetal, and adult cell types. However, mice completely derived from embryonic stem (ES) cells have been produced by aggregation with tetraploid embryos. The objective of the present study was to generate offspring completely derived from bovine ES-like cells. ES-like cells isolated from the inner cell mass of in vitro-produced embryos were aggregated with tetraploid bovine embryos generated by electrofusion at the 2-cell stage. A total of 77 embryo aggregates produced by coculture of two 8-cell-stage tetraploid embryos and a clump of ES-like cells were cultured in vitro. Twenty-eight of the aggregates developed to the blastocyst stage, and 12 of these were transferred to recipient cows. Six calves representing 2 singletons and 2 sets of twins were produced from the transfer of the chimeric embryos. Microsatellite analysis for the 6 calves demonstrated that one calf was chimeric in the hair roots and the another was chimeric in the liver. However, unfortunately, both of these calves died shortly after birth. Two of the placentae from the remaining pregnancies were also chimeric. These results indicate that the bovine ES-like cells used in these studies were able to contribute to development.     

Use of coisogenic host blastocysts for efficient establishment of germline chimeras with C57BL/6J ES cell lines.

Gene targeting in embryonic stem (ES) cells allows the production of mice with specified genetic mutations. Currently, germline-competent ES cell lines are available from only a limited number of mouse strains, and inappropriate ES cell/host blastocyst combinations often restrict the efficient production of gene-targeted mice. Here, we describe the derivation of C57BL/6J (B6) ES lines and compare the effectiveness of two host blastocyst donors, FVB/NJ (FVB) and the coisogenic strain C57BL/6-Tyr(c)-2J (c2J), for the production of germline chimeras. We found that when B6 ES cells were injected into c2J host blastocysts, a high rate of coat-color chimerism was detected, and germline transmission could be obtained with few blastocyst injections. In all but one case, highly chimeric mice transmitted to 100% of their offspring. The injection of B6 ES cells into FVB blastocysts produced some chimeric mice. However; the proportion of coat-color chimerism was low, with many more blastocyst injections required to generate chimeras capable of germline transmission. Our data support the use of the coisogenic albino host strain, c2J, for the generation of germline-competent chimeric mice when using B6 ES cells.     

Further studies on thermal treatment of two-cell stage embryos to produce complete embryonic stem-cell-derived mice by cell-aggregation methods

Employing aggregation techniques with two embryonic sources, one from two-cell stage embryos treated by thermal stimulation and the other from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells that had been obtained from a feeder layer, simple and most effective methods of producing a complete generation of mice from ES cells were explored. Although thermal treatment affected embryos at various developmental stages, the embryos at the two-cell stage of development were selected because of the remarkably reduced number of cells present in the inner cell mass (ICM) at blastocyst stage after thermal conditioning. Under these conditions, a combination of thermally treated host embryos and an aggregated ES cell-clump was found to produce a high rate of live newborns by natural delivery. That the newborns were completely derived from ES cells was checked by two criteria: microsatellite analysis and coat color analysis. Importantly, all of these mice were healthy and fertile. The aggregation techniques reported here might well be applied to other animal species whose ES cells form stable colonies on a feeder layer.     

F0 generation mice fully derived from gene-targeted embryonic stem cells allowing immediate phenotypic analyses

A useful approach for exploring gene function involves generating mutant mice from genetically modified embryonic stem (ES) cells. Recent advances in genetic engineering of ES cells have shifted the bottleneck in this process to the generation of mice. Conventional injections of ES cells into blastocyst hosts produce F0 generation chimeras that are only partially derived from ES cells, requiring additional breeding to obtain mutant mice that can be phenotyped. The tetraploid complementation approach directly yields mice that are almost entirely derived from ES cells, but it is inefficient, works only with certain hybrid ES cell lines and suffers from nonspecific lethality and abnormalities, complicating phenotypic analyses. Here we show that laser-assisted injection of either inbred or hybrid ES cells into eight cell-stage embryos efficiently yields F0 generation mice that are fully ES cell-derived and healthy, exhibit 100% germline transmission and allow immediate phenotypic analysis, greatly accelerating gene function assignment.     

Germline competence of mouse ES and iPS cell lines: Chimera technologies and genetic background

In mice, gene targeting by homologous recombination continues to play an essential role in the understanding of functional genomics. This strategy allows precise location of the site of transgene integration and is most commonly used to ablate gene expression ("knock-out"), or to introduce mutant or modified alleles at the locus of interest ("knock-in"). The efficacy of producing live, transgenic mice challenges our understanding of this complex process, and of the factors which influence germline competence of embryonic stem cell lines. Increasingly, evidence indicates that culture conditions and in vitro manipulation can affect the germline-competence of Embryonic Stem cell (ES cell) lines by accumulation of chromosome abnormalities and/or epigenetic alterations of the ES cell genome. The effectiveness of ES cell derivation is greatly strain-dependent and it may also influence the germline transmission capability. Recent technical improvements in the production of germline chimeras have been focused on means of generating ES cells lines with a higher germline potential. There are a number of options for generating chimeras from ES cells (ES chimera mice); however, each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Recent developments in induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology have opened new avenues for generation of animals from genetically modified somatic cells by means of chimera technologies. The aim of this review is to give a brief account of how the factors mentioned above are influencing the germline transmission capacity and the developmental potential of mouse pluripotent stem cell lines. The most recent methods for generating specifically ES and iPS chimera mice, including the advantages and disadvantages of each method are also discussed.     

Establishment and differentiation of murine EG cell lines derived from primordial germ cells]

Primordial germ cells (PGC) were isolated from 8.5, 10.5, 12.5 days post coitum (dpc) embryos of F1 (Balb/c x ICR), C57BL/6J, 129/svJ, 129/sv-ter mice, and cultured on mitotically inactive MEF or STO feeder layer cells with addition of leukemia inhibitory factor, stem cell factor and basic fibroblast growth factor in cultures. PGCs formed densely packed and AKP positive colonies with pluripotential marker gene (oct-4) expression resembling undifferentiated ES cells in morphology and growth pattern. Five EG cell lines derived from PGCs were established: EG1(8.5 dpc, F1), EG2 and EG3 (8.5 dpc, C57BL/6J), EG4 (10.5 dpc, 129/svJ), EG5 (10.5 dpc, 129/sv-ter). No long term culture was obtained from 12.5 dpc PGCs of 29 embryos. All five EG cell lines cultured on feeder layer cells or in LIF containing medium still remain undifferentiated state at 15 th passage. Under appropriate conditions, EG cells formed embryoid bodies in suspension culture and multiple types of differentiated cells in monolayer culture. When these EG cells were injected in nude mice, they formed teratocacinomas containing differentiated cells such as cartilage, neural tissue and epithelium. These results show that EG1-5 cell lines derived from 8.5, 10.5 dpc embryos are pluripotential.     

Production of knockout mice by gene targeting in multipotent germline stem cells

Spermatogonial stem cells can convert into embryonic stem (ES) cell-like multipotent germline stem (mGS) cells in vitro and produce germline chimeras by blastocyst microinjection. Although homologous recombination was previously demonstrated in mGS cells, spermatogenesis was not found in chimeras, suggesting that they are not competent for germline modification. Here we conducted detailed analysis of chimeric animals to determine whether mGS cells retain germline potential after genetic manipulation. Spermatozoa that were deficient in the occludin gene could be recovered from animals that were chimeric with mGS cells that underwent homologous recombination. The phenotypes of the occludin knockout (KO) mice were similar to those reported for KO mice produced using ES cells, and the animals showed growth retardation, gastritis and male infertility. Furthermore, we found that heterozygous mGS cells acquire two copies of the G418-resistant genes and become homozygous for the targeted allele by culturing at high concentrations of G418. Cytogenetic analysis showed that the aneuploid mGS cells observed during genetic manipulation were trisomic for chromosome 8 or 11, which is a common chromosomal abnormality in ES cells. Thus, mGS cells can be used to produce KO animals, and this novel method of germline manipulation may prove useful in diverse mammalian species.     

Mouse embryos lacking Smad1 signals display defects in extra-embryonic tissues and germ cell formation

The Smad proteins are important intracellular mediators of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) family of secreted growth factors. Smad1 is an effector of signals provided by the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) sub-group of TGFbeta molecules. To understand the role of Smad1 in mouse development, we have generated a Smad1 loss-of-function allele using homologous recombination in ES cells. Smad1-/- embryos die by 10.5 dpc because they fail to connect to the placenta. Mutant embryos are first recognizable by 7.0 dpc, owing to a characteristic localized outpocketing of the visceral endoderm at the posterior embryonic/extra-embryonic junction, accompanied by a dramatic twisting of the epiblast and nascent mesoderm. Chimera analysis reveals that these two defects are attributable to a requirement for Smad1 in the extra-embryonic tissues. By 7.5 dpc, Smad1-deficient embryos show a marked impairment in allantois formation. By contrast, the chorion overproliferates, is erratically folded within the extra-embryonic space and is impeded in proximal migration. BMP signals are known to be essential for the specification and proliferation of primordial germ cells. We find a drastic reduction of primordial germ cells in Smad1-deficient embryos, suggesting an essential role for Smad1-dependent signals in primordial germ cell specification. Surprisingly, despite the key involvement of BMP signaling in tissues of the embryo proper, Smad1-deficient embryos develop remarkably normally. An examination of the expression domains of Smad1, Smad5 and Smad8 in early mouse embryos show that, while Smad1 is uniquely expressed in the visceral endoderm at 6.5 dpc, in other tissues Smad1 is co-expressed with Smad5 and/or Smad8. Collectively, these data have uncovered a unique function for Smad1 signaling in coordinating the growth of extra-embryonic structures necessary to support development within the uterine environment.     

Expression of the tudor-related gene Tdrd5 during development of the male germline in mice

Homologues of Drosophila germ cell determinant genes such as vasa, nanos and tudor have recently been implicated in development of the male germline in mice. In the present study, the mouse gene encoding Tudor domain containing protein 5 (TDRD5) was isolated from a 12.5-13.5 days post coitum (dpc) male-enriched subtracted cDNA library. Whole-mount in situ hybridization analysis of Tdrd5 expression in the mouse embryonic gonad indicated that this gene is upregulated in the developing testis from 12.5 dpc, with expression levels remaining higher in testis than ovary throughout embryogenesis. Expression of Tdrd5 was absent in testes isolated from We/We embryos, which lack germ cells. In situ hybridization (ISH) on cryosectioned 13.5 dpc testes suggests that expression of Tdrd5, like that of Oct4, is restricted to germ cells. Northern hybridization analysis of expression in adult tissues indicated that Tdrd5 is expressed in the testis only, implying that expression of this gene is restricted to the male germline throughout development to adulthood.     

Medaka cleavage embryos are capable of generating ES-like cell cultures

Mammalian embryos at the blastocyst stage have three major lineages, which in culture can give rise to embryonic stem (ES) cells from the inner cell mass or epiblast, trophoblast stem cells from the trophectoderm, and primitive endoderm stem cells. None of these stem cells is totipotent, because they show gene expression profiles characteristic of their sources and usually contribute only to the lineages of their origins in chimeric embryos. It is unknown whether embryos prior to the blastocyst stage can be cultivated towards totipotent stem cell cultures. Medaka is an excellent model for stem cell research. This laboratory fish has generated diploid and even haploid ES cells from the midblastula embryo with ~2000 cells. Here we report in medaka that dispersed cells from earlier embryos can survive, proliferate and attach in culture. We show that even 32-cells embryos can be dissociated into individual cells capable of producing continuously growing ES-like cultures. Our data point to the possibility to derive stable cell culture from cleavage embryos in this organism.     

Production of mouse chimeras by injection of embryonic stem cells into the perivitelline space of one-cell stage embryos

Generation of mouse chimeras is useful for the elucidation of gene function. In the present report, we describe a new technique for the production of chimeras by injection of R1 embryonic stem (ES) cells into the perivitelline space of one-cell stage mouse embryos. One-cell embryos are injected with 2–6 ES cells into the perivitelline space under the zona pellucida without laser-assistance. Our embryo culture experiments reveal that ES cells injected at the one-cell stage embryo start to be incorporated into the blastomeres beginning at the 8-cell stage and form a chimeric blastocyst after 4 days. We have used this approach to successfully produce a high rate of mouse chimeras in two different mouse genetic backgrounds permitting the establishment of germ line transmitters. This method allows for the earlier introduction of ES cells into mouse embryos, and should free up the possibility of using frozen one-cell embryos for this purpose.