Induced pluripotent stem cells from goat fibroblasts

Area of Science:

• Stem cell biology
• Reproductive biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are valuable for research but have not been successfully derived from goats.
• Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer an alternative by reprogramming somatic cells.
• Limited information exists on deriving iPSCs from goats.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from goat fetal fibroblasts.
• To characterize the pluripotency and differentiation potential of the derived goat iPSCs.

Main Methods:

• Lentiviral transduction of fetal goat ear fibroblasts with OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and cMYC.
• Co-culture with mitomycin C-treated mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
• Culture medium supplemented with knockout serum replacement and human basic fibroblast growth factor.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated goat iPSCs with morphology similar to human iPSCs.
• Confirmed normal karyotype and positive staining for alkaline phosphatase, OCT4, and NANOG.
• Demonstrated expression of endogenous pluripotency genes and spontaneous differentiation into three germ layers in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusions:

• This study reports the successful generation of goat iPSCs, a significant advancement for ungulate stem cell research.
• The derived goat iPSCs possess key characteristics of pluripotency, opening avenues for genetic engineering and disease modeling in goats.