Cloned mice and embryonic stem cell lines generated from adult somatic cells by nuclear transfer.

Mice can now be cloned from cultured and noncultured adult-, fetus-, male-, or female-derived cells. Using the mouse as a model, research is moving towards a comprehensive description of clones generated by somatic cell nuclear transfer. In addition, embryonic stem (ES) cell lines can be generated from adult somatic cells via nuclear transfer (ntES cells). ntES cells contribute to an extensive variety of cell types including neurons in vitro and germ cells in vivo. Recent advances in mouse cloning are reported to illustrate its strengths and promise in the study of mammalian biology and biomedicine.