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Conversion of female germline stem cells from neonatal and prepubertal mice into pluripotent stem cells Free
Hu Wang1, Manxi Jiang2, Haiwei Bi1, Xuejin Chen2, Lin He1, Xiaoyong Li1, and Ji Wu1,*
1Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
2Department of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China *Correspondence to:Ji Wu, E-mail: jiwu@sjtu.edu.cn
J Mol Cell Biol, Volume 6, Issue 2, April 2014, 164-171,  https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mju004
Keyword: embryonic stem-like cells, female germline stem cells, adult stem cells

Pluripotent stem cells derived from neonatal or adult testes are a useful tool to examine the mechanisms of pluripotency and a resource for cell-based therapies. However, therapies using these cells will only benefit males but not females. Recently, female germline stem cells (FGSCs) were discovered in ovaries. Whether FGSCs can be converted into pluripotent stem cells, similar to spermatogonial stem cells, is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that female embryonic stem-like cells (fESLCs) can be generated within 1 month from the stably proliferating FGSCs cultured in embryonic stem cell (ESC) medium. fESLCs exhibit properties similar to those of ESCs in terms of marker expression and differentiation potential. Thus, our findings suggest that generation of patient-specific fESLCs is feasible and provides a foundation for personalized regenerative applications.