An in vitro embryotoxicity assay using the differentiation of embryonic mouse stem cells into haematopoietic cells

The earliest identified state of a specific cell in mammalian embryonic development is the embryonic stem cell (ES cell). The murine ES cell line D3 was used to establish conditions that allow a reproducible differentiation of ES cells in culture. The development of haematopoietic cells in semi-solid medium parallels to some extent the onset of haematopoiesis in the developing embryo. In methylcellulose cultures, erythropoiesis is observed at day 7 to day 8 of culture. An inhibitory influence of retinoic acid is observed both on blood cell development and on myocardial cell development. In contrast, retinoic acid induces the development of nerve and skeletal muscle cell differentiation in D3 ES cells. Further optimization of the culture conditions for ES cell differentiation will facilitate the use of ES cells for embryotoxicity testing in vitro.