Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Hepatic differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Elizabeth Jones, Dr David Wilson, Emerita Professor Susan Lindsay

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

Murine embryonic stem (ES) cells can replicate indefinitely in culture and can give rise to all tissues, including the germline, when reimplanted into a murine blastocyst. ES cells can also be differentiated in vitro into a wide range of cell types. We have utilized a liver-specific marker to demonstrate that murine ES cells can differentiate into hepatocytes in vitro. We have used ES cells carrying a gene trap vector insertion (I.114) into an ankyrin repeat-containing gene (Gtar) that we have previously shown provides an exclusive β-galactosidase marker for the early differentiation of hepatocytes in vivo. β-Galactosidase-positive cells were differentiated from I.114 ES cells in vitro. The identity of these cells was confirmed by the expression of the proteins alpha-fetoprotein, albumin, and transferrin and by the fact that they have an ultrastructural appearance consistent with that of embryonic hepatocytes. We propose that this model system of hepatic differentiation in vitro could be used to define factors that are involved in specification of the hepatocyte lineage. In addition, human ES cells have recently been derived and it has been proposed that they may provide a source of differentiated cell types for cell replacement therapies in the treatment of a variety of diseases. © 2001 Elsevier Science.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Jones EA, Tosh D, Wilson DI, Lindsay S, Forrester LM

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Experimental Cell Research

Year: 2002

Volume: 272

Issue: 1

Pages: 15-22

Print publication date: 01/01/2002

ISSN (print): 0014-4827

ISSN (electronic): 1090-2422

Publisher: Academic Press

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/excr.2001.5396

DOI: 10.1006/excr.2001.5396

PubMed id: 11740861


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share