Abstract
A stem cell niche is a specialized tissue environment that controls the proliferation and differentiation of its resident stem cells. The functions of these structures have been well characterized in adult organisms. In particular, the bone marrow stem cell niche in mammals has been amenable to analysis because of the ability of transplanted hematopoietic cells to home and to recolonize the bone marrow of an irradiated host. Despite clues from adult models, it remains unclear how stem cells become partitioned into appropriate niches during embryonic development. To examine the earliest steps in niche formation, we created an organ culture system to observe the development of primordial germ cells (PGCs), a migratory stem cell population that will eventually give rise to the gametes. Using this assay, we can watch PGCs as they migrate to colonize the developing gonads and can introduce growth factor agonists or antagonists to test the function of proteins that regulate this process. This provides an unprecedented opportunity to identify the cellular and molecular interactions required for the formation of the germ cell niche.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Lawson, K.A., Dunn, N.R., Roelen, B.A., et al. (1999) Bmp4 is required for the generation of primordial germ cells in the mouse embryo Genes Dev 13, 424–36.
Anderson, R., Copeland, T.K., Scholer, H., Heasman, J., and Wylie, C. (2000) The onset of germ cell migration in the mouse embryo Mech Dev 91, 61–8.
Molyneaux, K.A., Stallock, J., Schaible, K., and Wylie, C. (2001) Time-lapse analysis of living mouse germ cell migration Dev Biol 240, 488–98.
Brennan, J., and Capel, B. (2004) One tissue, two fates: molecular genetic events that underlie testis versus ovary development. Nat Rev Genet 5, 509–21.
Song, X., Wong, M.D., Kawase, E., et al. (2004) Bmp signals from niche cells directly repress transcription of a differentiation-promoting gene, bag of marbles, in germline stem cells in the Drosophila ovary Development 131, 1353–64.
Kawase, E., Wong, M.D., Ding, B.C., and Xie, T. (2004) Gbb/Bmp signaling is essential for maintaining germline stem cells and for repressing bam transcription in the Drosophila testis Development 131, 1365–75.
Zhang, J., Niu, C., Ye, L., et al. (2003) Identification of the haematopoietic stem cell niche and control of the niche size Nature 425, 836–41.
Zhang, J., He, X.C., Tong, W.G., et al. (2006) Bone morphogenetic protein signaling inhibits hair follicle anagen induction by restricting epithelial stem/progenitor cell activation and expansion Stem Cells 24, 2826–39.
Zhao, G.Q. (2003) Consequences of knocking out BMP signaling in the mouse Genesis 35, 43–56.
Shimasaki, S., Moore, R.K., Otsuka, F., and Erickson, G.F. (2004) The bone morphogenetic protein system in mammalian reproduction Endocr Rev 25, 72–101.
Dudley, B.M., Runyan, C., Takeuchi, Y., Schaible, K., and Molyneaux, K. (2007) BMP signaling regulates PGC numbers and motility in organ culture Mech Dev 124, 68–77.
Anderson, R., Fassler, R., Georges-Labouesse, E., et al. (1999) Mouse primordial germ cells lacking beta1 integrins enter the germline but fail to migrate normally to the gonads Development 126, 1655–64.
Takeuchi, Y., Molyneaux, K., Runyan, C., Schaible, K., and Wylie, C. (2005) The roles of FGF signaling in germ cell migration in the mouse Development 132, 5399–409.
Molyneaux, K.A., Zinszner, H., Kunwar, P.S., et al. (2003) The chemokine SDF1/CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 regulate mouse germ cell migration and survival Development 130, 4279–86.
Runyan, C., Schaible, K., Molyneaux, K., Wang, Z., Levin, L., and Wylie, C. (2006) Steel factor controls midline cell death of primordial germ cells and is essential for their normal proliferation and migration Development 133, 4861–9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Dudley, B., Molyneaux, K. (2011). In Vivo Germ Line Stem Cell Migration: A Mouse Model. In: Filippi, MD., Geiger, H. (eds) Stem Cell Migration. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 750. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-145-1_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-145-1_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-144-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-145-1
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols