Dissecting embryonic and extraembryonic lineage crosstalk with stem cell co-culture. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38052213/)

These scientists wanted to understand how different parts of an embryo, which is a very early stage of a baby animal, work together to grow. They knew that there are special cells called stem cells that can turn into different types of cells in the body. But these stem cells are usually grown in different conditions, depending on where they come from in the embryo.

So, the scientists decided to create a special environment in the lab that could grow different types of stem cells together. They used a combination of chemicals that activate certain pathways in the cells. These pathways are like special signals that tell the cells what to do and how to grow.

They took blastocysts, which are very early embryos, from mice and monkeys. Then, using this special environment, they were able to grow three different types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells, extraembryonic endoderm stem cells, and trophoblast stem cells. These stem cells come from different parts of the embryo and have different jobs.

By growing these different stem cells together, the scientists found that the extraembryonic endoderm cells actually slowed down the growth of the other stem cells. They think this happens because the extraembryonic endoderm cells send signals to the other cells through something called the extracellular matrix.

The scientists also compared the stem cells from mice and monkeys to see if they were similar or different. They found that some of the genes and pathways that control the growth of the extraembryonic endoderm cells were the same in both animals, but there were also some differences.

This study is important because it helps us understand how different parts of an embryo work together to grow. It also gives us new ideas for creating better models of embryos in the lab, which can help us learn more about how animals develop and grow.

Wei Y., Zhang E., Yu L., Ci B., Sakurai M., Guo L., Zhang X., Lin S., Takii S., Liu L., Liu J., Schmitz DA., Su T., Zhang J., Shen Q., Ding Y., Zhan L., Sun HX., Zheng C., Xu L., Okamura D., Ji W., Tan T., Wu J. Dissecting embryonic and extraembryonic lineage crosstalk with stem cell co-culture. Cell. 2023 Dec 21;186(26):5859-5875.e24. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.008. Epub 2023 Dec 4.