Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Cellular Differentiation00:57

Cellular Differentiation

5.6K
How does a complex organism such as a human develop from a single cell? It all starts from a single fertilized egg which gives rise to a vast array of cell types, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, and epithelial cells that characterize the adult? Throughout development and adulthood, cellular differentiation leads cells to assume their final morphology and physiology. Differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells become specialized to carry out distinct functions.
A zygote is a...
5.6K
Determination01:51

Determination

16.3K
During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In...
16.3K
Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation01:10

Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation

6.0K
The development of all multicellular organisms starts with the fusion of haploid cells called sperm and egg to form a diploid zygote. A zygote is a totipotent cell that can develop into a complete organism. The zygote undergoes cell division or cleavage to form an 8-cell mass. Until this stage, the cells are spherical, loosely attached, and remain totipotent. Totipotent cells are capable of developing both the embryonic and the extraembryonic tissues. However, as they continue to divide, they...
6.0K
Cleavage and Blastulation01:33

Cleavage and Blastulation

42.1K
After a large-single-celled zygote is produced via fertilization, the process of cleavage occurs while zygotes travel through the uterine tube. Cleavage is a mitotic cell division that does not result in growth. With each round of successive cell division, daughter cells get increasingly smaller.
42.1K
Maintenance of the ES Cell State01:14

Maintenance of the ES Cell State

1.9K
The cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass only remain pluripotent for a short time. This state of pluripotency and self-renewal can be maintained in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture by adding specific chemicals or growth factors to ensure the cells can continue dividing and later differentiate into different cell types. In some cases, the cells are grown on a feeder layer of differentiated cells, which provides the growth factors and extracellular matrix components necessary for stem cell...
1.9K
Lineage Commitment01:21

Lineage Commitment

3.4K
Commitment is the  process whereby stem cells:
3.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

NELFA supports naïve pluripotency and drives 8C-like state in human embryonic stem cells.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

A post-implantation model of human embryo development includes a definitive hematopoietic niche.

Cell reports·2025
Same author

Epigenetic priming of mammalian embryonic enhancer elements coordinates developmental gene networks.

Genome biology·2025
Same author

The emergence of human primordial germ cell-like cells in stem cell-derived gastruloids.

Science advances·2025
Same author

Stem cell-based embryo models: a tool to study early human development.

Science China. Life sciences·2025
Same author

The role of KLF4 in human primordial germ cell development.

Open biology·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 21, 2026

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

15.1K

Primordial germ cell specification: a context-dependent cellular differentiation event [corrected].

Ufuk Günesdogan1, Erna Magnúsdóttir2, M Azim Surani3

  • 1Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3DY, UK Wellcome Trust Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QR, UK.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|October 29, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Primordial germ cell (PGC) specification relies on bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and WNT signaling. Transcriptional enhancers are key to establishing developmental competence for PGC fate.

Keywords:
developmental competenceenhancerepigenetic reprogrammingprimordial germ cellsspecification

More Related Videos

Isolation and Derivation of Mouse Embryonic Germinal Cells
14:01

Isolation and Derivation of Mouse Embryonic Germinal Cells

Published on: October 22, 2009

15.6K
Directed Differentiation of Primitive and Definitive Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
14:37

Directed Differentiation of Primitive and Definitive Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Published on: November 1, 2017

10.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 21, 2026

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

15.1K
Isolation and Derivation of Mouse Embryonic Germinal Cells
14:01

Isolation and Derivation of Mouse Embryonic Germinal Cells

Published on: October 22, 2009

15.6K
Directed Differentiation of Primitive and Definitive Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
14:37

Directed Differentiation of Primitive and Definitive Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Published on: November 1, 2017

10.8K

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Epigenetics
  • Cell Fate Determination

Background:

  • Germline development begins with primordial germ cell (PGC) specification from the postimplantation epiblast.
  • Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and WNT signaling pathways are crucial for this initial PGC specification.
  • PGCs activate a distinct cellular program involving transcription factors BLIMP1, PRDM14, and AP2γ, suppressing somatic differentiation and promoting pluripotency gene re-expression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore how postimplantation epiblast cells gain developmental competence for PGC fate.
  • To highlight the role of transcriptional enhancers in PGC specification and reprogramming.
  • To discuss recent advancements in understanding PGC development.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent scientific literature on PGC specification and reprogramming.
  • Analysis of signaling pathways (BMP, WNT) involved in early germline development.
  • Focus on the function of transcriptional enhancers in cell fate decisions.

Main Results:

  • PGC specification is initiated by BMP and WNT signaling.
  • A core set of transcription factors (BLIMP1, PRDM14, AP2γ) orchestrates PGC identity.
  • Transcriptional enhancers are emerging as critical regulators of developmental competence for PGC fate.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding PGC specification is fundamental to germline development.
  • Transcriptional enhancers play a pivotal role in establishing cell fate competence.
  • Further research into enhancer function will illuminate PGC development and reprogramming.