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Updated: Jul 10, 2025
Trans-inner Cell Mass Injection of Embryonic Stem Cells Leads to Higher Chimerism Rates
Published on: May 29, 2018
Developmental potency of human ES cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells revealed in mouse embryos following blastocyst
Borong Huang1, Siyi Fu1, Yanan Hao1
1Center of Reproduction, Development & Aging, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau, China.
Abstract:
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are present in almost all the tissues in the body, critical for their homeostasis and regeneration. However, the stemness of MSCs is mainly an in vitro observation, and lacking exclusive markers for endogenous MSCs makes it difficult to study the multipotency of MSCs in vivo, especially for human MSCs. To address this hurdle, we injected GFP-tagged human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived MSCs (EMSCs) into mouse blastocysts. EMSCs survived well and penetrated both the inner cell mass and trophectoderm, correlating to the higher anti-apoptotic capability of EMSCs than hESCs. Injected EMSCs contributed to skeletal, dermal, and extraembryonic tissues in the resultant chimera and partially rescued skeletal defects in Sox9+/- mouse fetuses. Thus, this study provides evidence for the stemness and developmental capability of human MSCs through chimerization with the mouse blastocyst, serving as a model for studying human mesenchymal and skeletal development.
