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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
14:17
Nuclear Transfer into Mouse Oocytes
Published on: November 30, 2006
Nuclear transfer to study the nuclear reprogramming of human stem cells
Shigeo Saito1, Ken Sawai, Yoshinobu Murayama
1Saito Laboratory of Cell Technology, Kataoka, Yaita, Tochigi, Japan.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|March 29, 2008
Summary
Cloned bovine embryonic stem cells offer insights into nuclear reprogramming and tissue regeneration. This research paves the way for generating transgenic offspring and potential human neural stem cell therapies.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive biology
- Developmental biology
- Stem cell science
Background:
- Understanding mammalian tissue and organ development relies on stem cell research.
- Nuclear cloning is currently the only method to revert differentiated cells to an undifferentiated state.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the nuclear reprogramming capabilities of stem cells using cloned bovine embryonic stem cells.
- To establish protocols for producing cloned calves from bovine embryonic stem cells.
- To explore gene introduction into bovine embryonic stem cells for potential therapeutic applications.
Main Methods:
- Nuclear transfer of bovine embryonic stem cells.
- Production of cloned calves.
- In vitro gene introduction into bovine embryonic stem cells, including human leukocyte antigens (HLA).
Main Results:
- Protocols for producing cloned calves from bovine embryonic stem cells were established.
- Blastocysts derived from embryonic stem cells demonstrated a higher frequency of term pregnancies compared to early and maintained pregnancies after nuclear transfer with somatic cells.
- Successful gene introduction into bovine embryonic stem cells was achieved.
Conclusions:
- Bovine embryonic stem cells are a valuable tool for generating transgenic clonal offspring.
- The study advances the understanding of nuclear reprogramming and its potential for regenerative medicine.
- This technique holds promise for future human neural stem cell transplantation therapies.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming
Nuclear reprogramming is a process of transforming one cell type into an unrelated cell type by epigenetic changes that alter the cell’s original gene expression pattern. Such epigenetic changes force cells to express a different set of genes, which play a significant role in inducing transformation into other cell types. Nuclear reprogramming offers applications in reproductive cloning for livestock propagation and regenerative medicine — developing patient-specific cells for injury repair.
01:14Introduction to Nuclear Reprogramming
Nuclear reprogramming is the process of switching gene expression of one cell type to that of another cell type, usually from a differentiated cell state to an undifferentiated cell state. Differentiation occurs during processes such as development and morphogenesis, tissue regeneration, and malignancy. Cells can also be artificially induced to reprogram their gene expression by techniques such as nuclear transfer, induced pluripotency, and cell fusion. Such techniques have many applications in...
01:29Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming
Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012 for this...