Human somatic cells subjected to genetic induction with six germ line-related factors display meiotic germ cell-like features.

The in vitro derivation of human germ cells has attracted interest in the last years, but their direct conversion from human somatic cells has not yet been reported. Here we tested the ability of human male somatic cells to directly convert into a meiotic germ cell-like phenotype by inducing them with a combination of selected key germ cell developmental factors. We started with a pool of 12 candidates that were reduced to 6, demonstrating that ectopic expression of the germ line-related genes PRDM1, PRDM14, LIN28A, DAZL, VASA and SYCP3 induced direct conversion of somatic cells (hFSK (46, XY), and hMSC (46, XY)) into a germ cell-like phenotype in vitro.

Understanding Mammalian Germ Line Development with In Vitro Models.

Germ line development is crucial in organisms with sexual reproduction to complete their life cycle. In mammals, knowledge about germ line development is based mainly on the mouse model, in which genetic and epigenetic events are well described. However, little is known about how germ line development is orchestrated in humans, especially in the earliest stages.

Germ line development: lessons learned from pluripotent stem cells.

Current knowledge about mammalian germ line development is mainly based on the mouse model and little is known about how this fundamental process occurs in humans. This review summarizes our current knowledge of genetic and epigenetic germ line development in mammals, mainly focusing on primordial germ cell (PGC) specification events, comparing the differences between mouse and human models. We also emphasize the knowledge derived from the most successful strategies used to generate germ cell-like cells in vitro in both models and major obstacles to obtaining bona fide in vitro-derived gametes are considered.

Germ cell transplantation into mouse testes procedure.

Objective: To illustrate the step-by-step protocol followed to assay germ cell transplantation into the seminiferous epithelium of mouse testes.

Design: Video presentation of an animal model for research in reproductive and regenerative medicine.

Setting: Research laboratory.

Overcoming challenges of ovarian cancer stem cells: novel therapeutic approaches.

Understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms of ovarian cancer has been the focus of research efforts working toward the greater goal of improving cancer therapy for patients with residual disease after initial treatment with conventional surgery and neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The focus of this review will be centered on new therapeutic strategies based on Cancer Stem Cells studies of chemoresistant subpopulations, the prevention of metastasis, and individualized therapy in order to find the most successful combination of treatments to effectively treat human ovarian cancer. We reviewed recent literature (1993-2011) of novel treatment approaches to ovarian cancer stem cells.

Specific unsaturated fatty acids enforce the transdifferentiation of human cancer cells toward adipocyte-like cells.

Differentiation therapy pursues the discovery of novel molecules to transform cancer progression into less aggressive phenotypes by mechanisms involving enforced cell transdifferentiation. In this study, we examined the identification of transdifferentiating adipogenic programs in human cancer cell lines (HCCLs). Our findings showed that specific unsatturated fatty acids, such as palmitoleic, oleic and linoleic acids, trigger remarkable phenotypic modifications in a large number of human cancer cell lines (HCCLs), including hepatocarcinoma HUH-7, ovarian carcinoma SK-OV-3, breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 and melanoma MALME-3M.