Modelling stem cell decisions in mouse germ cells

生物学中的一个基本问题是细胞如何从多能性转变为谱系承诺。本项目的目的是通过解剖小鼠胎儿睾丸中原始生殖细胞(PGCs，配子干细胞)在正常发育过程中的活跃机制，在体内研究这一问题。使用分子、细胞和整个动物分析，将解决三个关于可能在这一过程中起重要作用的基因的中心假设。这项研究将揭示细胞身份中双电势开关的分子本质，并将揭示我们这个时代一些最重要的生物学问题，包括组织再生、衰老和癌症生物学。

A fundamental problem in biology is how cells transition from pluripotency to lineage commitment. The aim of this project is to study this problem, in vivo, by dissecting the mechanisms active during normal development of primordial germ cells (PGCs, gamete stem cells) in the mouse fetal testis. Using molecular, cellular and whole animal assays three central hypotheses will be addressed regarding genes likely to be important in the process. This research will reveal the molecular nature of bipotential switches in cell identity and will inform some of the most important biological issues of our time, including tissue regeneration, aging and cancer biology.