A chimera is an animal that has two or more populations of genetically distinct cells that originated in different embryos, fetuses, or individuals of the same or different species. During recent decades, embryos, the inner cell mass (ICM), teratocarcinoma stem cells, embryonal carcinoma stem cells, embryonic stem (ES) cells (ESCs), primordial germ cells, spermatogonial stem cells, extraembryon...

background degenerative retinal diseases, including age related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and hereditary retinal dystrophies are major causes of blindness. the principal defect in these diseases is cell loss which is amenable to both cell based neuroprotective and neuroregenerative therapies. to briefly review the lines of research and potential candidates for cell based therapies among r...

CONCLUSION Cell transplantation into the utriculus provides an efficient and non-invasive route to introduce embryonic stem (ES) cells into the vestibular and cochlear portions of the inner ear. OBJECTIVE The transfer of stem cells into the inner ear for therapeutic purposes is an important approach to cure damage to the cochlea and vestibulum. A key issue is to provide an entry point for cel...

This protocol describes the derivation and culture of epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) from early postimplantation epiblasts. EpiSCs can be maintained in an undifferentiated state and retain the ability to generate tissues from all three germ layers in vitro and to form teratomas in vivo. However, they seem unable to form chimeras. Whether this is due to differences in developmental status or a cel...

abstract spinal cord injury (sci) is a devastating condition producing great personal and societal costs and for which there is no effective treatment. stem cell transplantation is a promising therapeutic strategy, though much preclinical and clinical research work remains. here, we briefly describe sci epidemiology, pathophysiology, and transplantation trial in human developments, including te...

Initial cell lineages that presage the inner cell mass and extra-embryonic trophectoderm are established when eight blastomeres compact to form polarized morulae in preimplantation mouse development. FILIA has been identified as a binding partner to MATER (maternal antigen that embryos require; also known as NLRP5), which is encoded by a maternal effect gene. Products of each gene are detected ...

A stem cell is a specific kind of cell that has the unique capacity to renew itself and to give rise to specialized cell type. In terms of potentially, stem cells can be classified in three types: • Totipotent: is the ability to form all cell types, including the extra-embryonic tissues. In mammals, the fertilized egg, zygote and the first 2, 4, 8, 16 blastomeres from the early, are examples of...

Primitive mammalian neural stem cells (NSCs), arising during the earliest stages of embryogenesis, possess pluripotency in embryo chimera assays in contrast to definitive NSCs found in the adult. We hypothesized that adhesive differences determine the association of stem cells with embryonic cells in chimera assays and hence their ability to contribute to later tissues. We show that primitive N...