As a human embryo grows, a set of molecules directs cells as they multiply and take on specific identities and spatial positions within the embryo. In one crucial step known as gastrulation, these signaling molecules guide a single layer of embryonic stem cells to form three layers of distinct cell types that will later become different parts of the body.
Now, researchers in the iPS Cell Research Center at Gladstone Institutes have shown that tight junctions between cells may play a critical role in gastrulation in human embryos.
“This study has exciting implications for the way we design gastrulation models and other lab techniques for differentiating stem cells into specialized cell types,” says Shinya Yamanaka, MD, Ph.D., senior investigator at Gladstone and a senior author of the study published in the journal Developmental Cell. ”The better we understand signaling mechanisms in embryos, the more easily we can recapitulate these processes in robust, reproducible ways.”
The team is already applying their results to develop novel techniques for transforming stem cells in a dish into human egg cells—a strategy that could one day be used for in vitro fertilization.
Gastrulation sets a foundation for the development of the entire human body. Researchers have found ways to recreate a simplified version of this fundamental process in a dish by starting with a layer of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells—adult cells that have been reprogrammed to mimic embryonic stem cells, meaning they can differentiate to become any cell type in the body.
2023-07-17 19:00:03
Link from phys.org