Open AccessIn Vitro Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells: Enrichment of Endodermal Cells in the Embryoid Body
Author(s) -
Choi Dongho,
Lee HyeJa,
Jee Seunghyun,
Jin Soojung,
Koo Soo Kyung,
Paik Seung Sam,
Jung Sung Chul,
Hwang SueYun,
Lee Kwang Soo,
Oh Bermseok
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1634/stemcells.2004-0262
Subject(s) - embryoid body , biology , embryonic stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , stem cell , germ layer , p19 cell , cellular differentiation , in vitro , adult stem cell , genetics , induced pluripotent stem cell , gene
Embryonic stem (ES) cells have the potential to differentiate into all three germ layers, providing new perspectives not only for embryonic development but also for the application in cell replacement therapies. Even though the formation of an embryoid body (EB) in a suspension culture has been the most popular method to differentiate ES cells into a wide range of cells, not much is known about the characteristics of EB cells. To this end, we investigated the process of EB formation in the suspension culture of ES cells at weekly intervals for up to 6 weeks. We observed that the central apoptotic area is most active in the first week of EB formation and that the cell adhesion molecules, except β‐catenin, are highly expressed throughout the examination period. The sequential expression of endodermal genes in EBs during the 6‐week culture correlated closely with that of normal embryo development. The outer surface of EBs stained positive for α‐fetoprotein and GATA‐4. When isolated from the 2‐week‐old EB by trypsin treatment, these endodermal lineage cells matured in vitro into hepatocytes upon stimulation with various hepatotrophic factors. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that endodermal cells can be retrieved from EBs and matured into specific cell types, opening new therapeutic usage of these in vitro differentiated cells in the cell replacement therapy of various diseases.