Generation of human oogonia from induced pluripotent stem cells in vitro

TLDR

Human in vitro gametogenesis has advanced by culturing hPSCs with mouse embryonic ovarian somatic cells in xenogeneic reconstituted ovaries. The study demonstrates that hPSCs can be induced into hPGCLCs, which over four months epigenetically reprogram and differentiate into oogonia‑like cells, establishing a foundation for human in vitro gametogenesis and opening avenues for germ cell research. Yamashiro et al.

Abstract

Reconstituting a human ovary Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been induced into human primordial germ cell–like cells (hPGCLCs) in vitro, the first step toward human in vitro gametogenesis. Yamashiro et al. went a step closer to generating mature gametes by culturing hPSCs with mouse embryonic ovarian somatic cells in xenogeneic reconstituted ovaries (see the Perspective by Gill and Peters). Over a period of 4 months, hPGCLCs underwent hallmark epigenetic reprogramming and differentiated progressively into cells closely resembling human oogonia, an immediate embryonic precursor for human oocytes. This study creates opportunities for human germ cell research and provides a foundation for human in vitro gametogenesis. Science , this issue p. 356 ; see also p. 291