Abbreviations: rAAV, recombinant adeno-associated virus; DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid; DSBs, doublestrand breaks; SDSA, synthesis dependent strand annealing; ES, embryonic stem; ESC, embryonic stem cell; HPRT, hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase; HAT, hypoxanthine-aminopterin-thymidine; ITR, inverted terminal repeat; bp, basepair; ZFN, zinc finger nuclease; SCID, severe combined immunodeficien...

The aim of this study was to isolate mouse embryonic stem cells from late blastocyst stage embryos and to use them as a model system for the study of hematopoietic induction outside the embryo by coculturing of embryonic stem cells with bone marrow stromal cells. Blastocyst stage embryos from pregnant NMRI mice were obtained and cultured for 1-2 days in DMEM medium. The inner cell masses formed...

Background: Germ cell development processes are influenced by soluble factors and intercellular signaling events between them and the neighboring somatic cells. More insight into the molecular biology of the germ cell development from embryonic stem (ES) cells and investigation of appropriate factors, specifically those targeting differentiation process, is of great importance. In this study, w...

Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a potent transcription coactivator acting via binding to the TEAD transcription factor, and plays a critical role in organ size regulation. YAP is phosphorylated and inhibited by the Lats kinase, a key component of the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway. Elevated YAP protein levels and gene amplification have been implicated in human cancer. In this study, we report ...

Pluripotency is a property that early embryonic cells possess over a considerable developmental time span. Accordingly, pluripotent cell lines can be established from the pre-implantation or post-implantation mouse embryo as embryonic stem (ES) or epiblast stem (EpiSC) cell lines, respectively. Maintenance of the pluripotent phenotype depends on the function of specific transcription factors (T...

c-Myc (Myc) is an important transcriptional regulator in embryonic stem (ES) cells, somatic cell reprogramming, and cancer. Here, we identify a Myc-centered regulatory network in ES cells by combining protein-protein and protein-DNA interaction studies and show that Myc interacts with the NuA4 complex, a regulator of ES cell identity. In combination with regulatory network information, we defin...

Since effective cell sourcing is a major challenge for the therapeutic management of liver disease and liver failure, embryonic stem (ES) cells are being widely investigated as a promising source of hepatic-like cells with their proliferative and pluripotent capacities. Cell-cell interactions are crucial in embryonic development modulating adhesive and signaling functions; specifically, the cel...

Embryonic stem cells (ESC) have been reported for different mammalian species (i.e. hamster, rat, mink, pig, and cow), but only murine ES cells have successfully transmitted their cell genome through the germline. Recently, interest in stem cell technology has intensified with the reporting of the isolation of primate and human ES cells. In developing this chapter, some conventions have to be e...

In 2010, Multilineage Differentiating Stress Enduring (Muse) cells were introduced to the scientific community, offering potential resolution to the issue of teratoma formation that plagues both embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells. Isolated from human bone marrow, dermal fibroblasts, adipose tissue and commercially available adipose stem cells (ASCs) under severe cellul...

The possibility to isolate, cultivate, preserve, characterize and differentiate Human Embryonic Stem Cells (ES) discovered by James Thomson and his colleagues in 1998 was a milestone in the history of Stem Cell Research. Immediately after this discovery many speculations were made about the therapeutic possibilities of ES, motivated by ideological, political and economic aspects. The episode ma...