O-161 Using pluripotent stem cells for in vitro gametogenesis

Abstract

Abstract Human reproduction depends on the formation of germ cells, the cell lineage responsible for making gametes. Gametes are the only cell types in the body capable of passing DNA from one generation to the next, therefore problems at any stage of germ cell development leading up to the formation of gametes can lead to reproductive challenges or even premature ovarian aging. In humans, germ cell development begins soon after embryo implantation with the specification of primordial germ cells (PGCs) from peri-implantation progenitor cells. Once PGC specification has finished, no other cell type in the body is capable of contributing to the germ cell lineage. Therefore, failure to specify PGCs will lead to certain infertility. In order to study PGC development, my laboratory animal models, stem cells and organoid technology. The advantage of using laboratory animal model is that PGC specification development and differentiation can be studied in vivo. The disadvantage is that human-specific mechanisms of PGC specification can be overlooked when not using human cells in research. To overcome this, my lab builds and uses stem cell models of peri-implantation human development in order to understand PGC specification as well as stem cell models to study in vitro gametogenesis. In this lecture, I will discuss latest advances in stem cell technology to understand fertility and infertility as well as human embryology.