Exp Mol Med.  2011 Jul;43(7):379-388. 10.3858/emm.2011.43.7.048.

Roles of gangliosides in mouse embryogenesis and embryonic stem cell differentiation

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Biological Science, College of Natural Sciences, Biotechnology Institute, Wonkwang University, Iksan 570-749, Korea. ykchoo@wonkwang.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Animal Resources, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Daegu University, Gyeongsan 712-714, Korea.
  • 3National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Ochang 363-883, Korea.

Abstract

Gangliosides have been suggested to play important roles in various functions such as adhesion, cell differentiation, growth control, and signaling. Mouse follicular development, ovulation, and luteinization during the estrous cycle are regulated by several hormones and cell-cell interactions. In addition, spermatogenesis in seminiferous tubules of adult testes is also regulated by several hormones, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) and cell-cell interactions. The regulation of these processes by hormones and cell-cell interactions provides evidence for the importance of surface membrane components, including gangliosides. During preimplantation embryo development, a mammalian embryo undergoes a series of cleavage divisions whereby a zygote is converted into a blastocyst that is sufficiently competent to be implanted in the maternal uterus and continue its development. Mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells are pluripotent cells derived from mouse embryo, specifically, from the inner cell mass of blastocysts. Differentiated neuronal cells are derived from mES cells through the formation of embryonic bodies (EBs). EBs recapitulate many aspects of lineage-specific differentiation and temporal and spatial gene expression patterns during early embryogenesis. Previous studies on ganglioside expression during mouse embryonic development (including during in vitro fertilization, ovulation, spermatogenesis, and embryogenesis) reported that gangliosides were expressed in both undifferentiated and differentiated (or differentiating) mES cells. In this review, we summarize some of the advances in our understanding of the functional roles of gangliosides during the stages of mouse embryonic development, including ovulation, spermatogenesis, and embryogenesis, focusing on undifferentiated and differentiated mES cells (neuronal cells).

Keyword

cell differentiation; embryonic development; embryonic stem cells; gangliosides; ovulation; spermatogenesis

MeSH Terms

Animals
*Cell Differentiation
*Embryonic Development
Embryonic Stem Cells/*cytology/metabolism
Gametogenesis
Gangliosides/*metabolism
Mice
Urogenital System/cytology/embryology/metabolism
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