Bone morphogenetic protein 4 is an efficient inducer for mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation into primordial germ cell.

Presence of specific growth factors and feeder layers are thought to be important for in vitro embryonic stem cell (ESCs) differentiation. In this study, the effect of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) co-culture system on germ cell differentiation from mouse ESCs was evaluated. One-day-old embryoid body was cultured for 4 d in simple culture systems or on top of the MEFs, both in the presence or absence of BMP4. Data showed significant higher viability percent and proliferation rate in simple culture media compared to co-culture systems. Analysis of gene expression indicated that the germ cell-specific genes (VASA and Stra8) were expressed in a significant higher ratio in BMP4-treated cells in simple culture system. Also, the results of immunocytochemistry in simple culture systems showed that the mean percentage of immunostaining cells of VASA, the primordial germ cell (PGC) marker, was increased significantly in BMP4-treated cells compared with BMP4-free group. Meanwhile, CDH1, the late premiotic germ cell marker, showed no significant difference between these two groups. The results suggest that BMP4 is an efficient inducer in PGC derivation from mouse ESC. However, the employment of MEFs as feeder has no apparent effect on PGC derivation.