Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Japan.
Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2012 Nov 1;4(11):a008375. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a008375.
Germ cell development creates totipotency through genetic as well as epigenetic regulation of the genome function. Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the first germ cell population established during development and are immediate precursors for both the oocytes and spermatogonia. We here summarize recent findings regarding the mechanism of PGC development in mice. We focus on the transcriptional and signaling mechanism for PGC specification, potential pluripotency, and epigenetic reprogramming in PGCs and strategies for the reconstitution of germ cell development using pluripotent stem cells in culture. Continued studies on germ cell development may lead to the generation of totipotency in vitro, which should have a profound influence on biological science as well as on medicine.
生殖细胞的发育通过基因组功能的遗传和表观遗传调控产生全能性。原始生殖细胞（PGC）是发育过程中建立的第一个生殖细胞群体，是卵母细胞和精原细胞的直接前体细胞。我们在这里总结了关于小鼠 PGC 发育机制的最新发现。我们重点介绍了 PGC 特化、潜在多能性和 PGC 中表观遗传重编程的转录和信号机制，以及使用培养中的多能干细胞重建生殖细胞发育的策略。对生殖细胞发育的持续研究可能导致体外全能性的产生，这将对生物学科学以及医学产生深远的影响。
