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Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Reprogramming Primary Amniotic Fluid and Membrane Cells to Pluripotency in Xeno-free Conditions
Published on: November 27, 2017
A rapid and stable spontaneous reprogramming system of Spermatogonial stem cells to Pluripotent State
Rui Wei1,2, Xiaoyu Zhang1,2, Xiaoxiao Li1,2
1Germline Stem Cells and Microenvironment Lab, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
Background:
The scarcity of pluripotent stem cells poses a major challenge to the clinical application, given ethical and biosafety considerations. While germline stem cells commit to gamete differentiation throughout life, studies demonstrated the spontaneous acquisition of pluripotency by spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) from neonatal testes at a low frequency (1 in 1.5 × 107). Notably, this process occurs without exogenous oncogenes or chemical supplementation. However, while knockout of the p53 gene accelerates the transformation of SSCs, it also increases risk and hampers their clinical use.
Results:
We report a transformation system that efficiently and stably convert SSCs into pluripotent stem cells around 10 passages with the morphology similar to that of epiblast stem cells, which convert to embryonic stem (ES) cell-like colonies after change with ES medium. Epidermal growth factor (EGF), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and fresh mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder (MEF) are essential for transformation, and addition of 2i (CHIR99021 and PD0325901) further enhanced the pluripotency. Transcriptome analysis revealed that EGF activated the RAS signaling pathway and inhibited p38 to initiate transformation, and synergically cooperated with LIF to promote the transformation.
Conclusion:
This system established an efficient and safe resource of pluripotent cells from autologous germline, and provide new avenues for regenerative medicine and animal cloning.
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