These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed


  • Title: Mouse germ cell development: from specification to sex determination.
    Author: Ewen KA, Koopman P.
    Journal: Mol Cell Endocrinol; 2010 Jul 08; 323(1):76-93. PubMed ID: 20036311.
    Abstract:
    Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are embryonic progenitors for the gametes. In the gastrulating mouse embryo, a small group of cells begin expressing a unique set of genes and so commit to the germline. Over the next 3-5 days, these PGCs migrate anteriorly and increase rapidly in number via mitotic division before colonizing the newly formed gonads. PGCs then express a different set of unique genes, their inherited epigenetic imprint is erased and an individual methylation imprint is established, and for female PGCs, the silent X chromosome is reactivated. At this point, germ cells (GCs) commit to either a female or male sexual lineage, denoted by meiosis entry and mitotic arrest, respectively. This developmental program is determined by cues emanating from the somatic environment.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]