Ultrastructural comparison of porcine putative embryonic stem cells derived by <i>in vitro</i> fertilization and somatic cell nuclear transfer

Abstract

The ultrastructure of porcine putative embryonic stem cells and porcine fetal fibroblasts (PFFs) was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. The aim of this study was to compare the features of organelles in in vitro fertilization (IVF) derived porcine embryonic stem cells (IVF-pESCs) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) derived pESCs (SCNT-pESCs). Also, the features of organelles in high-passage IVF-pESCs were compared with those in low-passage cells. The ultrastructure of PFFs showed rare microvilli on the cell surfaces, polygonal or irregular nuclei with one to two reticular-shaped nucleoli and euchromatin, low cytoplasm-to-nucleus ratios, rare ribosomes, rare rough endoplasmic reticulum, elongated mitochondria, rich lysosomes and rich phagocytic vacuoles. IVF-pESCs showed rare microvilli on the cell surfaces, round or irregular nuclei with one to two reticular-shaped nucleoli and euchromatin, low cytoplasm-to-nucleus ratios, rich ribosomes, long stacks of rough endoplasmic reticulum, elongated mitochondria, rare lysosomes and rare autophagic vacuoles. By contrast, SCNT-pESCs showed rich microvilli with various lengths and frequencies on the cell surfaces, polygonal nuclei with one reticular shaped nucleoli and heterochromatin, high cytoplasm-to-nucleus ratios, rare ribosomes, rare rough endoplasmic reticulum, round mitochondria, rich lysosomes and rich phagocytic vacuoles with clear intercellular junctions. Furthermore, high-passage IVF-pESCs showed irregularly shaped colonies, pyknosis and numerous lysosomes associated with autophagic vacuoles showing signs of apoptosis. In conclusion, this study confirms that the ultrastructural characteristics of pESCs differ depending on their origin. These ultrastructural characteristics might be useful in biomedical research using pESCs, leading to new insights regarding regenerative medicine and tissue repair.

Apoptosis in Porcine Pluripotent Cells: From ICM to iPSCs

“…This conversion of energy metabolism was also known to occur during osteogenic differentiation from human mesenchymal stem cells [ 32 ]. Our previous report confirmed that the porcine ESCs in a higher passage have much more initial signs of apoptosis than those in lower passages through TEM analysis [ 33 ]. As porcine ESCs are passaged under stress, some of them exhibit pyknosis, wrinkly nuclear envelopes, and numerous lysosomes associated with autophagic vacuoles.…”

Morphological and ultrastructural characterization of neurospheres spontaneously generated in the culture from sheep ovarian cortical cells

“…In the present study, LFCs and LPCs bore abundant microvilli at the apical membranes, which are characteristic features of embryonic stem cells (Baharvand & Matthaei, 2003; Sathananthan et al, 2002; Yoo et al, 2016), epithelial cells of embryoid bodies (Alharbi et al, 2014), and neuroepithelial cells and NPCs during neurogenesis (Marzesco et al, 2005). However, it has rarely been reported in NS (Gil‐Perotín et al, 2013).…”

Blastocyst-like Structures in the Peripheral Retina of Young Adult Beagles

“…The inner cells of the small cysts in the peripheral retina exhibited the following morphological and histochemical features that are similar to pluripotent stem cells such as ES cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells: (1) a small round shape, (2) a high nuclear/cytoplasmic (N/C) ratio, and (3) a euchromatin-rich nucleus [34][35][36]. Furthermore, the small cysts formed structures closely resembling the preimplantation blastocyst [13], i.e., both the small cyst and the blastocyst were composed of three components: an inner cell mass comprised of extremely small cells, an outer wall consisting of a single layer of It has been reported that vWF is expressed in the trophoblasts derived from the trophectoderm [26][27][28].…”