Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Biologia Cellulare, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via G. Montpellier 1, 00173 Roma, Italy.
Curr Pharm Des. 2012;18(3):233-44. doi: 10.2174/138161212799040448.
The cell cycle of primordial germ cells (PGCs), the embryonic precursors of gametes, is characterized by a mitotic phase common to both sexes and a mitotic-meiotic switch in the female. In the present work, we will review the results obtained in the last decade by studies aimed to clarify intrinsic and extrinsic regulatory signals of such processes, with particular reference to mouse PGCs. Besides providing a better understanding of how the gamete population is established in mammals, information about the players controlling the PGC cycle will be useful to clarify other intriguing aspects of germ cell biology such as the origin of germ cell tumours and the mechanisms allowing the maintenance of totipotency in the germ line.
原始生殖细胞（PGC）的细胞周期是配子的胚胎前体，其特征是两性均具有有丝分裂阶段，而雌性中则存在有丝分裂-减数分裂转换。在本工作中，我们将回顾过去十年中旨在阐明这些过程的内在和外在调节信号的研究结果，特别参考小鼠 PGC。除了更好地了解哺乳动物中配子群体是如何建立的，关于控制 PGC 周期的因子的信息将有助于阐明生殖细胞生物学的其他有趣方面，例如生殖细胞肿瘤的起源和维持生殖系全能性的机制。
