Mice Cloned from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)

• Published in: Biology of reproduction Vol. 83; no. 2; pp. 238 - 243
• Main Authors: Kou, Zhaohui, Kang, Lan, Yuan, Ye, Tao, Yu, Zhang, Yu, Wu, Tong, He, Jing, Wang, Jianle, Liu, Zhonghua, Gao, Shaorong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison, WI Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc 01.08.2010; Society for the Study of Reproduction
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Blastocyst - physiology; Cell Differentiation - genetics; Cloning, Organism - methods; Embryonic Development; Embryonic Stem Cells; Female; Fertility; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression; Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors - genetics; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred DBA; Nuclear Transfer Techniques; Octamer Transcription Factor-3 - genetics; Pluripotent Stem Cells - ultrastructure; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Genetic; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc - genetics; SOXB1 Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transfection; Vertebrates: reproduction; Embryo; Stem cell; Cell nucleus; developmental biology; Rodentia; Totipotent cell; reprogramming; Vertebrata; Reproduction; Mammalia; Mouse; induced pluripotent stem cell; Animal; Development; Transfer; nuclear transfer; cloning
• ISSN: 0006-3363; 1529-7268
• DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.110.084731

Differentiated somatic cells of various species can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by ectopically expressing a combination of several transcription factors that are highly enriched in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). The generation of iPSCs in large animals has raised the possibility of producing genetically modified large animals through the nuclear transplantation approach. However, it remains unknown whether iPSCs could be used for generating cloned animals through the nuclear transfer method. Here, we show the successful production of viable cloned mice from inducible iPSCs through the nuclear transfer approach, and the efficiency is similar to that of using ESCs derived via normal fertilization. Furthermore, the cloned mice are fertile and can produce second-generation offspring. These efforts strengthen the possibility of utilizing iPSCs to generate gene-modified large animals for pharmaceutical purposes in the future.