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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4, Cells, Cultured, Humans, Lewis X Antigen, Male, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Spermatogenesis, Umbilical Cord.
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Does bMP4 promote SSEA-1 ( + ) hUC-MSC differentiation into male germ-like cells in vitro? Context: Recent studies have demonstrated that primordial germ cells (PGC) can be differentiated from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs), and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in vitro. Nevertheless, efficiencies were low and unstable. Here, whether hUC-MSCs can be induced to differentiate into germ-like cells with the aid of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP4) was investigated. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells were freshly isolated and cultured with BMP4. SSEA-1(+/-) cells were purified using magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) from the hUC-MSCs, and further induced with BMP4. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunofluorescence analysis were used to determine PGC and germ-like cell-specific markers. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells differentiated into SSEA-1(+) spherical PGC-like cells efficiently with 12.5 ng/ml BMP4. qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that SSEA-1(+) cells expressed higher levels of PGC-specific markers than SSEA-1(-) cells. Furthermore, SSEA-1(+) cells were induced with BMP4 to differentiate into STRA8, SCP3, DMRT1 and PLZF-positive male germ-like cells, and some sperm-like cells were obtained by 7-14 days after induction.
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These results suggest that SSEA-1(+) hUC-MSCs can differentiate into male germ-like cells in the presence of BMP4. This study provides an efficient protocol to study germ-cell development using hUC-MSCs. Final Decision: yes