Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1223 Capitol Court, Madison, Wisconsin 53715-1299, USA.
J Endocrinol. 2013 Feb 25;216(3):R33-45. doi: 10.1530/JOE-12-0433. Print 2013 Mar.
The development of the placenta is imperative for successful pregnancy establishment, yet the earliest differentiation events of the blastocyst-derived trophectoderm that forms the placenta remain difficult to study in humans. Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) display a unique ability to form trophoblast cells when induced to differentiate either by the addition of exogenous BMP4 or by the formation of cellular aggregates called embryoid bodies. While mouse trophoblast stem cells (TSC) have been isolated from blastocyst outgrowths, mouse ESC do not spontaneously differentiate into trophoblast cells. In this review, we focus on addressing the similarities and differences between mouse TSC differentiation and hESC-derived trophoblast differentiation. We discuss the functional and mechanistic diversity that is found in different species models. Of central importance are the unique signaling events that trigger downstream gene expression that create specific cellular fate decisions. We support the idea that we must understand the nuances that hESC differentiation models display so that investigators can choose the appropriate model system to fit experimental needs.
胎盘的发育对于成功妊娠的建立至关重要，但对于滋养外胚层的最早分化事件，这些滋养外胚层形成胎盘，仍然难以在人类中进行研究。人类胚胎干细胞（hESC）在诱导分化时具有独特的能力，可以形成滋养细胞，方法是添加外源性 BMP4 或形成称为胚状体的细胞聚集物。虽然已经从囊胚外胚层中分离出了小鼠滋养层干细胞（TSC），但小鼠 ESC 不会自发分化为滋养细胞。在这篇综述中，我们重点探讨了小鼠 TSC 分化和 hESC 衍生的滋养细胞分化之间的相似性和差异性。我们讨论了在不同物种模型中发现的功能和机制多样性。至关重要的是，触发下游基因表达的独特信号事件会产生特定的细胞命运决定。我们支持这样一种观点，即我们必须了解 hESC 分化模型所表现出的细微差别，以便研究人员能够选择合适的模型系统来满足实验需求。
