On the development of extragonadal and gonadal human germ cells

Author(s)

Heeren, A. Marijne ^{[1, 2]} ; He, Nannan ^[1] ; de Souza, Aline F. ^{[1, 3, 4]} ; Goercharn-Ramlal, Angelique ^{[1, 5]} ; van Iperen, Liesbeth ^[1] ; Roost, Matthias S. ^[1] ; Fernandes, Maria M. Gomes ^[1] ; van der Westerlaken, Lucette A. J. ^[6] ; Lopes, Susana M. Chuva de Sousa ^{[1, 7]}

Affiliation

^[1] Leiden Univ, Dept Anat & Embryol, Med Ctr, Einthovenweg 20, NL-2333 ZC Leiden - Netherlands

^[2] Vrije Univ Amsterdam Med Ctr, Dept Obstet & Gynaecol, De Boelelaan 1118, NL-1081 HZ Amsterdam - Netherlands

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Anim Sci & Food Engn, Dept Vet Med, Ave Duque Caxias Norte 225, BR-13630000 Pirassununga, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Surg, Ave Prof Dr Orlando Marques Paiva 87, BR-05508270 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[5] Radboud Univ Nijmegen, Dept Human Genet, Med Ctr, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 10, NL-6500 HB Nijmegen - Netherlands

^[6] Leiden Univ, Dept Gynaecol, Med Ctr, Albinusdreef 2, NL-2333 ZA Leiden - Netherlands

^[7] Ghent Univ Hosp, Dept Reprod Med, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent - Belgium

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BIOLOGY OPEN; v. 5, n. 2, p. 185-194, FEB 15 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 10

Abstract

Human germ cells originate in an extragonadal location and have to migrate to colonize the gonadal primordia at around seven weeks of gestation (W7, or five weeks post conception). Many germ cells are lost along the way and should enter apoptosis, but some escape and can give rise to extragonadal germ cell tumors. Due to the common somatic origin of gonads and adrenal cortex, we investigated whether ectopic germ cells were present in the human adrenals. Germ cells expressing DDX4 and/or POU5F1 were present in male and female human adrenals in the first and second trimester. However, in contrast to what has been described in mice, where `adrenal' and `ovarian' germ cells seem to enter meiosis in synchrony, we were unable to observe meiotic entry in human `adrenal' germ cells until W22. By contrast, `ovarian' germ cells at W22 showed a pronounced asynchronous meiotic entry. Interestingly, we observed that immature POU5F1+ germ cells in both first and second trimester ovaries still expressed the neural crest marker TUBB3, reminiscent of their migratory phase. Our findings highlight species- specific differences in early gametogenesis between mice and humans. We report the presence of a population of ectopic germ cells in the human adrenals during development. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/26761-0 - Reprogramming human embryonic germ cells
• Grantee: Aline Fernanda de Souza
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate