Journal
CELL STEM CELL
Volume 20, Issue 6, Pages 858-+Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2017.03.007
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31625018, 31230047, 31522034, 31571544, 81561138005, 81521002]
- National Basic Research Program of China [2014CB943200]
- Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission [D151100002415000]
- National High Technology Research and Development Program [2015AA020407]
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Human fetal germ cells (FGCs) are precursors to sperm and eggs and are crucial for maintenance of the species. However, the developmental trajectories and heterogeneity of human FGCs remain largely unknown. Here we performed single-cell RNA-seq analysis of over 2,000 FGCs and their gonadal niche cells in female and male human embryos spanning several developmental stages. We found that female FGCs undergo four distinct sequential phases characterized by mitosis, retinoic acid signaling, meiotic prophase, and oogenesis. Male FGCs develop through stages of migration, mitosis, and cell-cycle arrest. Individual embryos of both sexes simultaneously contain several subpopulations, highlighting the asynchronous and heterogeneous nature of FGC development. Moreover, we observed reciprocal signaling interactions between FGCs and their gonadal niche cells, including activation of the bone morphogenic protein (BMP) and Notch signaling pathways. Our work provides key insights into the crucial features of human FGCs during their highly ordered mitotic, meiotic, and gametogenetic processes in vivo.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available