SNL fibroblast feeder layers support derivation and maintenance of human induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem （iPS） cells can be derived from human somatic cells by cellular reprograrnming. This technology provides a potential source of non-controversial therapeutic ceils for tissue repair, drug discovery, and opportunities for studying the molecular basis of human disease. Normally, mouse embryonic fibroblasts （MEFs） are used as feeder layers in the initial derivation of iPS lines. The pur- pose of this study was to determine whether SNL fibrohlasts can be used to support the growth of human iPS cells reprogrammed from somatic cells using lentiviral expressed reprogramming factors. In our study, iPS cells expressed common pluripotency markers, dis- played human embryonic stem cells （hESCs） morphology and unmethylated promoters of NANOG and OCT4. These data demonstrate that SNL feeder cells can support the derivation and maintenance of human iPS cells.

Single-cell RNA-seq analysis of testicular somatic cell development in pigs

Spermatogenesis is the process by which diploid male germ cells propagate and differentiate into haploid flagellated spermatozoa.This highly complicated process is dependent on testicular somatic cells maturation.While the role of these somatic cells in spermatogenesis is relatively well established,knowledge about their development and maturation,particularly at the molecular level,is limited.In this study,we profiled the testicular single-cell transcriptomes of Guanzhong black pigs at the age of 7,30,60,90,and 150 days.Five types of Sertoli cells,five types of Leydig cells,and four types of peritubular myoid cells were identified.Histological analysis revealed the changes in proliferation levels and marker gene expressions,and the prion-like protein gene(PRND)was identified as a novel marker for Sertoli cells.Additionally,integrated analyses of porcine and human datasets revealed similarities between human and pig testicular somatic cells.Overall,the data obtained in this study contribute to the understanding of testicular development in pigs as a model species.

Insertion/deletion variants within the IGF2BP2 gene identified in reported genome-wide selective sweep analysis reveal a correlation with goat litter size

Insulin-like growth factor 2 m RNA-binding protein 2(IGF2 BP2,also called IMP2)plays an essential role in the development and maturation of germ cells and embryos and is a candidate gene for goat litter size,based on a previous genomewide selective sweep analysis.In this study,the m RNA expression level of IGF2 BP2 was found to be significantly higher in a single-lamb group than in a multi-lamb group.Insertions/deletions(indels)within the goat IGF2 BP2 gene,including P4-Ins-13 bp and P5-Del-12 bp,were verified in 918 Shaanbei White Cashmere(SBWC)female goats.The minor allelic frequencies(MAFs)of P4-Ins-13 bp and P5-Del-12 bp loci were 0.349 and 0.295,respectively.Analysis using the Chi-square(χ^(2))test showed that the genotype(χ^(2)=14.479,P=0.006)distribution of P4-Ins-13 bp was significantly different between the single-lamb and multi-lamb groups.Correlation analysis demonstrated that P4-Ins-13 bp was significantly associated with goat litter size(P=0.022),and individual goats with the homozygous deletion/deletion(DD)genotype produced more litters than other goats.Therefore,considered as a potential molecular marker significantly related to lambing traits,the P4-Ins-13 bp mutation of the goat IGF2 BP2 gene can be used in goat breeding with practical molecular marker-assisted selection(MAS)to optimize female reproduction and improve economic efficiency in the goat industry.