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Primordial Germ Cells: Current Knowledge and Perspectives

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Lyle ArmstrongORCiD, Professor Majlinda LakoORCiD, Professor Miodrag Stojkovic

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

Infertility is a condition that occurs very frequently and understanding what defines normal fertility is crucial to helping patients. Causes of infertility are numerous and the treatment often does not lead to desired pregnancy especially when there is a lack of functional gametes. In humans, the primordial germcell (PGC) is the primary undifferentiated stem cell type that will differentiate towards gametes: spermatozoa or oocytes. With the development of stem cell biology and differentiation protocols, PGC can be obtained from pluripotent stem cells providing a new therapeutic possibility to treat infertile couples. Recent studies demonstrated that viable mouse pups could be obtained from in vitro differentiated stem cells suggesting that translation of these results to human is closer. Therefore, the aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge about PGC indicating the perspective of their use in both research and medical application for the treatment of infertility.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Nikolic A, Volarevic V, Armstrong L, Lako M, Stojkovic M

Publication type: Review

Publication status: Published

Journal: Stem Cells International

Year: 2016

Print publication date: 01/01/2016

Acceptance date: 17/05/2015

ISSN (print): 1687-966X

ISSN (electronic): 1687-9678

Publisher: HINDAWI PUBLISHING CORP

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/1741072

DOI: 10.1155/2016/1741072

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