Reconstitution of prospermatogonial specification in vitro from human induced pluripotent stem cells

Nat Commun. 2020 Nov 9;11(1):5656. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19350-3.

Abstract

Establishment of spermatogonia throughout the fetal and postnatal period is essential for production of spermatozoa and male fertility. Here, we establish a protocol for in vitro reconstitution of human prospermatogonial specification whereby human primordial germ cell (PGC)-like cells differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells are further induced into M-prospermatogonia-like cells and T1 prospermatogonia-like cells (T1LCs) using long-term cultured xenogeneic reconstituted testes. Single cell RNA-sequencing is used to delineate the lineage trajectory leading to T1LCs, which closely resemble human T1-prospermatogonia in vivo and exhibit gene expression related to spermatogenesis and diminished proliferation, a hallmark of quiescent T1 prospermatogonia. Notably, this system enables us to visualize the dynamic and stage-specific regulation of transposable elements during human prospermatogonial specification. Together, our findings pave the way for understanding and reconstructing human male germline development in vitro.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Embryonic Germ Cells / physiology*
  • Epigenomics
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Humans
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / physiology*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Regulatory Elements, Transcriptional
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • Spermatogenesis / genetics*
  • Spermatogenesis / physiology*
  • Spermatogonia / cytology
  • Spermatozoa
  • Testis / cytology
  • Transcriptome