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Related Concept Videos

Embryonic Stem Cells00:57

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells were first discovered in mice in 1981 by Martin Evans. In 1998, James Thomson identified a method to isolate embryonic stem cells from humans. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are obtained from 3-5 day old embryos that remain unused after an in vitro fertilization procedure.
ES cells are grown in a culture medium where they can divide indefinitely, creating ES cell lines. Under certain conditions, ES cells can differentiate, either spontaneously into a variety of...
Embryonic Stem Cells00:58

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are undifferentiated pluripotent cells, meaning they can produce any cell type in the body. This gives them tremendous potential in science and medicine since they can generate specific cell types for use in research or to replace body cells lost due to damage or disease.
Stem Cell Culture01:17

Stem Cell Culture

Stem cell research aims to find ways to use stem cells to regenerate and repair cellular damage. Over time, most adult cells undergo the wear and tear of aging and lose their ability to divide and repair themselves. Stem cells do not display a particular morphology or function. Adult stem cells, which exist as a small subset of cells in most tissues, keep dividing and can differentiate into a number of specialized cells generally formed by that tissue. These cells enable the body to renew and...
Source And Potency Of Stem Cells01:27

Source And Potency Of Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with extensive self-renewal properties that help them maintain their population during the fetal and adult stages of life. They can specialize in all cell types of the human body. However, their differential potential may vary and can be classified into five types. Stem cells can be (1) Totipotent, (2) Pluripotent, (3) Multipotent, (4) Oligopotent, and (5) Unipotent. Each stem cell has a specific origin; the fertilized egg or zygote is a totipotent cell and...
Multipotency and Niche of Bulge Stem Cell01:06

Multipotency and Niche of Bulge Stem Cell

A hair follicle or HF is a small part of the skin that produces the hair shaft. Paul Gerson Unna was the first to observe a bulge in the human hair follicle's outer root sheath (ORS). The bulge is present between the sebaceous gland and the arrector pili muscle and is the niche for hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). The bulge is also a niche for melanocyte stem cells, and their loss results in graying of hair. The HFSCs express Sox9 and Lhx2, which help them maintain stemness and prevent...
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:06

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different cell types. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are terminally differentiated; however, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they dedifferentiate and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Somatic cells are...

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Updated: May 30, 2026

Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Peripheral Blood Using the STEMCCA Lentiviral Vector
12:03

Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Peripheral Blood Using the STEMCCA Lentiviral Vector

Published on: October 31, 2012

Germline stem cells.

Allan Spradling1, Margaret T Fuller, Robert E Braun

  • 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Laboratories, Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology
|July 28, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Germline stem cells (GSCs) maintain sperm and egg production by balancing self-renewal and differentiation. While most GSCs use niches and asymmetric division, mammalian testis GSCs rely on stochastic processes for survival.

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Generation of Human Primordial Germ Cell-like Cells at the Surface of Embryoid Bodies from Primed-pluripotency Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
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Identifying DNA Mutations in Purified Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells
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Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Peripheral Blood Using the STEMCCA Lentiviral Vector
12:03

Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Peripheral Blood Using the STEMCCA Lentiviral Vector

Published on: October 31, 2012

Generation of Human Primordial Germ Cell-like Cells at the Surface of Embryoid Bodies from Primed-pluripotency Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
12:06

Generation of Human Primordial Germ Cell-like Cells at the Surface of Embryoid Bodies from Primed-pluripotency Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Published on: January 11, 2019

Identifying DNA Mutations in Purified Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells
11:06

Identifying DNA Mutations in Purified Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells

Published on: February 24, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Biology
  • Stem Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Sperm and egg production depend on germline stem cells (GSCs) that must balance self-renewal and differentiation.
  • Dysregulation of this balance can lead to infertility or tumorigenesis.
  • GSCs typically reside in niches that regulate their behavior, often through asymmetric division.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the mechanisms governing germline stem cell (GSC) homeostasis across different organisms.
  • To compare GSC regulation in typical niche-dependent systems with the unique mammalian testis environment.
  • To identify conserved pathways essential for germline survival.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of GSC behavior in various model organisms.
  • Review of existing literature on stem cell niches and asymmetric cell division.
  • Examination of GSC maintenance mechanisms in the mammalian testis.

Main Results:

  • Most organisms utilize anatomical niches and asymmetric division to control GSC self-renewal and differentiation.
  • Mammalian testes appear to lack obvious niches, suggesting GSC homeostasis is achieved through stochastic self-renewal and differentiation.
  • Despite structural differences, conserved molecular mechanisms likely ensure GSC survival across species.

Conclusions:

  • Germline stem cell regulation exhibits diversity, particularly between niche-dependent systems and the mammalian testis.
  • Understanding these diverse mechanisms is crucial for addressing infertility and developing regenerative therapies.
  • Conserved pathways underscore the fundamental importance of germline stem cells for species propagation.