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Deleted in Azoospermia-Like (DAZL) gene-expressing cells in human amniotic fluid: a new source for germ cells
Konstantinos Stefanidis1, Dimitris Loutradis, Lemonika Koumbi
1Laboratory of Stem Cells, Division of Reproductive Medicine, 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Alexandra Maternity Hospital, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece. kstefanidis@med.uoa.gr
Objective:
To evaluate whether amniotic fluid cells contain a germ-like cell subpopulation.
Design:
Experimental study.
Setting:
University hospital.
Patient(S):
None.
Intervention(S):
Cells from human amniotic fluid samples were analyzed for messenger RNA expression of Deleted in Azoospermia-Like gene (DAZL) and Oct-4 by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. DAZL and C-kit protein expression was assessed by flow cytometry. Immunocytochemistry also was performed to determine DAZL-, stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA-4)-, and Oct-4-positive cells.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
DAZL gene expression in amniotic fluid cells.
Result(S):
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometric, and immunocytochemical analyses revealed that human amniotic fluid consists of a distinct cell population that expresses DAZL, C-kit, SSEA-4, and Oct-4.
Conclusion(S):
Our results suggest that human amniotic fluid represents a new source for the isolation of human DAZL-, C-kit-, SSEA-4-, and Oct-4-positive stem cells without raising the ethical issues associated with human embryonic research.
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