The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences published the latest research results titled “Generation and Characterization of Giant Panda Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells” online in Journal Science advances. This study successfully established induced pluripotent stem cell system (iPSCs) derived from giant panda skin fibroblasts using reprogramming technology for the first time, and revealed its unique molecular characteristics and potential application value in species conservation, disease model construction and regenerative medicine through multi-dimensional analysis.
The giant panda is an endemic species and a “National Treasure” of China, and has been receiving extensive attention from the global scientific community because of its unique ecological status and population condition. In order to more effectively develop and utilize the genetic resources of giant pandas and explore the mysteries of their biology, researchers have isolated and preserved a variety of cells, including Spermatogonia Stem Cells, Fibroblast and Mesenchymal Stem Cells. However, the cells that have been isolated have many limitations in terms of proliferation, differentiation and application. There is an urgent need for researchers to obtain cells with more potential for proliferation, development and application for giant panda conservation and research.
In this study, the research team successfully obtained iPSCs by reprogramming isolated giant panda skin fibroblasts. These stem cells not only stably proliferate and maintain their pluripotency under in vitro culture conditions, but also show strong developmental potential by giving rise to different types of triploblastic cells under in vivo and in vitro differentiation conditions. Through sequencing technology and bioinformatics analysis, the research team has comprehensively analyzed the transcriptome and epigenetics of giant panda iPSCs. The results show that giant panda iPSCs have a series of unique gene expression patterns that are different from those of other species, in addition to the basic characteristics of initiating state stem cells. Meanwhile, the research team also conducted further studies on the in vitro maintenance conditions of giant panda iPSCs, developed specific culture conditions for the maintenance of giant panda iPSCs and discovered their unique signaling regulatory network. A series of features of giant panda iPSCs not only reflect the uniqueness of giant pandas in the evolutionary process, but also provide valuable clues for the study of their species-specific conservation strategies and subsequent research.
This breakthrough progress in giant panda pluripotent stem cell research not only enriches our understanding of the biological properties of giant pandas, but also provides an ideal cellular model for in-depth study of the embryonic development and cell differentiation mechanisms of giant pandas. In the future, as research continues to deepen and technology advances, giant panda iPSCs will play an even more important role in species conservation, disease treatment and tissue regeneration.
Liu Jing, a Researcher of Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hou Rong, a Researcher of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and Wang Luqin, an Assistant Researcher of Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, are the co-corresponding authors of the paper. Liu Yuliang, a Researcher of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and Zhang Shihao, a Doctoral Student of Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, are co-first authors of the paper.
This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Foundation, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province, and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation.
Figure Establishment, Identification and Maintenance of Culture Signaling Network In Vitro of Giant Panda iPSCs