Establishment of Rat Embryonic Stem Cells as Cancer Research Model

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ES cells are fully pluripotent in that they can differentiate into all cell types and have been a valuable source of animal models of human disease. Towards the generation of a gene-targeting rat for functional analysis of cancer-related genes, rat ES cells that have all undifferentiated characteristics express ES cell-specific genes, such as Nanog and Oct4, and cell surface markers including stage-specific embryonic antigens have been established. Furthermore, rat ES cells maintain their pluripotent potential to form embryoid bodies and differentiate into derivatives of all three embryonic germ layers. Thus, these results define rat ES cells as an embryonic stem cell line that can serve as a useful resource for the development of large animal models. The rat model is a promising experimental system for obtaining a better understanding of the origin and behavior of cancer initiation and progression, and for expediting the experimental screening and therapeutic strategies of human carcinomas.



References
Oncogene, 1998,16:3189-96.