Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Development. 2022 Oct 15;149(20). doi: 10.1242/dev.201015. Epub 2022 Oct 18.
The complex process by which a single-celled zygote develops into a viable embryo is nothing short of a miraculous wonder of the natural world. Elucidating how this process is orchestrated in humans has long eluded the grasp of scientists due to ethical and practical limitations. Thankfully, pluripotent stem cells that resemble early developmental cell types possess the ability to mimic specific embryonic events. As such, murine and human stem cells have been leveraged by scientists to create in vitro models that aim to recapitulate different stages of early mammalian development. Here, we examine the wide variety of stem cell-based embryo models that have been developed to recapitulate and study embryonic events, from pre-implantation development through to early organogenesis. We discuss the applications of these models, key considerations regarding their importance within the field, and how such models are expected to grow and evolve to achieve exciting new milestones in the future.
单细胞受精卵发育成有活力的胚胎的复杂过程，简直是自然界的奇迹。由于伦理和实际限制，科学家们长期以来一直无法阐明这一过程是如何在人体中进行调控的。值得庆幸的是，类似于早期发育细胞类型的多能干细胞具有模拟特定胚胎事件的能力。因此，科学家们利用鼠类和人类干细胞创建了体外模型，旨在重现早期哺乳动物发育的不同阶段。在这里，我们研究了各种基于干细胞的胚胎模型，这些模型旨在重现和研究胚胎事件，从着床前发育到早期器官发生。我们讨论了这些模型的应用，以及它们在该领域的重要性的关键考虑因素，以及这些模型如何有望发展和演变，以在未来实现令人兴奋的新里程碑。
