Embryonal carcinoma stem cells

Przyborski SA, Christie VB, Hayman MW, Stewart R, Horrocks GM (2004) Human embryonal carcinoma stem cells models of embryonic development in humans. Stem Cells Dev 13 400-408... 

Mouse P19 embryonic carcinoma stem cells have been xenotransplanted into an emptied chorion (the transparent envelope of a fertilized zebrafish egg) [3]. The chorion is a useful biological vessel for developing stem cells, owing to its relatively large size of 1 mm in diameter and also to the presence of penetrating nanopores of dimensions... 

Lee JW, Na DS, Kang JY, Lee SH, Ju BK (2006) Differentiation of mouse P19 embryonic carcinoma stem cells injected into an empty zebrafish egg chorion in a microfluidic device. Biosci Biotec Biochem 70(6) 1325-1330... 

Pamies, D., Sogorb, M.A., Fabbri, M., et al., 2014a. Genomic and phenot)rpic alterations of the neuronal-like cells derived from human embryonal carcinoma stem cells (NT2) caused by exposure to organophosphorus compounds paraoxon and mipafox. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 15 (1), 905-926. 

Stem cell research began in the 1970s with studies on teratocarcinoma cells, which are found in testicular cancers. These cells are bizarre blends of differentiated and undifferentiated cells. They were referred to as embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells. They were found to be pluripotent, which led to the idea of using them for therapy. However, such research was suspended because the cells had come from tumors, which made their use dangerous, and because they were aneuploid, which means they had the wrong number of chromosomes. 

Although recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the identification and development of small molecule modulators of stem cell fate, early observations in this area were made over 30 years ago describing the effects of naturally derived molecules on cell fate. In 1978, two independent reports demonstrated embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells could be differentiated towards parietal endo-derm-like cells with either all-trans-vtiinoic acid (ATRA) or hexamethylenebis-acetamide. ATRA has since been shown to exhibit pleiotropic effects and to promote differentiation to multiple cell types, and has been used in the clinic for the differentiation therapy of acute promyelogenous leukaemia. ... 

Embryonal carcinoma cell lines have also been established in culture from transplantable teratocarcinomas. The embryonal carcinoma (EC) stem cells present in the tumors actually differentiated, and give rise to a variety of different types of embiyonic and adult cells. When these EC cells are cultured, they still possess the... 

The implementation of animal test protocols in the 1980s has been accompanied by the development of a host of alternative methods to study adverse effects of chemicals on reproductive and developmental parameters. For example, rat whole embryo culture stems from the seventies (16), as does the rat limb bud organ culture (17) and rat limb bud and brain micromass was developed in the eighties (18). An elegant nonvertebrate alternative model used regeneration of polyps of Hydra atUnuata from dissociated cells (19). Animal-free in vitro alternatives include those employing the proliferation of a human embryonic palatal mesenchymal cell line (20), the attachment of a mouse ovarian tumor cell line (21), and the differentiation of a neuroblastoma cell line (22) and a embryonal carcinoma cell line (23). Various overviews of methods have been published over the years (24). The predictability of... 

One of the most fascinating and potentially most illuminating examples of the ability of retinoids to promote differentiation is the effect of retinoids on mouse embryonal carcinoma cells. These undifferentiated stem cells of teratocar-cinomas are multipotential, that is, they can differentiate into a multiplicity of somatic cell types (Kleinsmith and Pierce, 1964). When injected into mouse blastocysts, these malignant cells can differentiate and contribute to the normal tissues of the developing mouse (Brinster, 1974 Mintz and Illmensee, 1975). In this way, these cells resemble primordial germ cells and embryonic ectoderm. 

Pera, M. F., Blasco Lafita, M. J., and Mills, J. 1987. Cultured stem-cells from human testicular teratomas The nature of human embryonal carcinoma, and its comparison with two types of yolk-sac carcinoma. Int J Cancer 40(3) 334 3. 

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