Differentiation of reprogrammed somatic cells into functional hematopoietic cells

Recent advances have demonstrated that the differentiated somatic cells could be reprogrammed into pluripotent state. Consequently, the reprogrammed somatic cells recapitulate the capacity to differentiate into specific cell lineages under appropriate culture conditions, which provides unlimited cell sources for cell transplantation-based therapy. In the present study, testicular Sertoli cells were successfully reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells through somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Hematopoietic differentiation potential of the reprogrammed somatic cells was investigated in parallel to fertilization-derived ES (F-ES) cells. Our results demonstrated that the reprogrammed Sertoli cells (NT-ES) could efficiently differentiate into hematopoietic embryoid bodies (EBs). The hematopoietic-related genes including FLK-1, Bmp4, Runx1, etc. were dynamically expressed during the differentiation of the reprogrammed somatic cells in vitro. Transplantation of these differentiated reprogrammed cells into the bone marrow of irradiated mice could allow differentiation into different functional hematopoietic lineages in vivo. Moreover, blast-colony-forming cells (BL-CFCs) could be generated from both NT-ES and F-ES cells with similar efficiency in vitro. Our study indicates that the reprogrammed somatic cells possess the equivalent potency as F-ES cells in differentiating into functional hematopoietic cells.