Reprogramming Porcine Fibroblast to EPSCs

Area of Science:

• Stem cell biology
• Reproductive biology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Porcine expanded potential stem cells (pEPSCs) are crucial for studying pluripotency and applications in regenerative medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology.
• Deriving pEPSCs from embryos presents significant technical and resource challenges for many labs.
• Reprogramming somatic cells offers a more feasible alternative for generating pEPSCs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a detailed protocol for generating porcine stem cells from somatic cells.
• To establish a method for creating porcine expanded potential stem cell-induced pluripotent stem cells (pEPSC-iPSCs).
• To enable wider accessibility of pEPSCs for research and development.

Main Methods:

• Reprogramming of porcine fetal fibroblast cells using eight reprogramming factors.
• Utilizing piggyBac vectors for factor delivery.
• Selection of pluripotent cells using specific expanded potential stem cell (EPSC) media, independent of transgene expression.

Main Results:

• Successful generation of porcine stem cells with expanded potential stem cell characteristics (pEPSC-iPSCs).
• Demonstration of a transgene-independent selection method for pluripotency.
• Establishment of a practical protocol for deriving pEPSCs from somatic cells.

Conclusions:

• The described method provides a feasible and convenient approach for generating pEPSCs.
• This technique facilitates stem cell research, genome editing, and advancements in biotechnology and agriculture.
• The development of pEPSCs through somatic cell reprogramming expands research possibilities in porcine science.