中国科学院动物研究所王红梅等研究人员合作从三维囊胚培养中实现食蟹猴胚胎的神经形成。相关论文于2023年5月11日发表在《细胞》杂志上。

研究人员建立了一个三维（3D）延长体外培养（pIVC）系统，支持受精后7至25天的食蟹猴胚胎发育。通过单细胞多组学分析，研究人员证明pIVC胚胎形成了三个胚层，包括原始生殖细胞，并通过晚期原肠运动阶段建立了适当的DNA甲基化和染色质可及性。此外，pIVC胚胎的免疫荧光证实了神经嵴的形成、神经管（NT）封闭和神经祖细胞的区域化。最后，研究人员证明pIVC胚胎的转录谱和形态发生学类似于类似阶段的体内食蟹猴和人类胚胎的关键特征。因此，通过晚期原肠运动和早期神经形成，这项工作描述了一个研究非人灵长类动物胚胎发育的系统。

据了解，NT缺陷产生于异常的神经元，并导致全世界最常见的出生缺陷。然而，由于对人类胚胎研究的禁止和现有模型系统的限制，灵长类动物的神经形成机制在很大程度上仍然是未知的。

附：英文原文

Title: Neurulation of the cynomolgus monkey embryo achieved from 3D blastocyst culture

Author: Jinglei Zhai, Yanhong Xu, Haifeng Wan, Rui Yan, Jing Guo, Robin Skory, Long Yan, Xulun Wu, Fengyuan Sun, Gang Chen, Wentao Zhao, Kunyuan Yu, Wei Li, Fan Guo, Nicolas Plachta, Hongmei Wang

Issue&Volume: 2023/05/11

Abstract: Neural tube (NT) defects arise from abnormal neurulation and result in the most common birth defects worldwide. Yet, mechanisms of primate neurulation remain largely unknown due to prohibitions on human embryo research and limitations of available model systems. Here, we establish a three-dimensional (3D) prolonged in vitro culture (pIVC) system supporting cynomolgus monkey embryo development from 7 to 25 days post-fertilization. Through single-cell multi-omics analyses, we demonstrate that pIVC embryos form three germ layers, including primordial germ cells, and establish proper DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility through advanced gastrulation stages. In addition, pIVC embryo immunofluorescence confirms neural crest formation, NT closure, and neural progenitor regionalization. Finally, we demonstrate that the transcriptional profiles and morphogenetics of pIVC embryos resemble key features of similarly staged in vivo cynomolgus and human embryos. This work therefore describes a system to study non-human primate embryogenesis through advanced gastrulation and early neurulation.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.04.019

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00415-4