Nature: Protein OTX2 Plays a Crucial Role in Germ Cell Development

In a new study, researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Shandong University in China, and the Institute of Genetics and Biophysics in Naples, Italy, discovered key insights into how sperm cells (ie, sperm) and egg cells (eggs) are formed, thus helping to reveal their earliest stages of development. This study is the first to show how proteins affect the fate of these cells that determine the DNA profile of the offspring. The relevant research results were published online in the Nature recently, and the paper titled "OTX2 restricts entry to the mouse germline".

These findings focus on the development of germ cells that produce sperm and eggs. During reproduction, germ cells from different sexes fuse together to form new individuals.

These researchers used mice as the research object to explore the first stage of germ cell formation. They focused on a molecule called BMP4 that was found to block the activity of Otx2, a gene regulator that directs the development of non-germ cells (called somatic cells). They demonstrated that lowering Otx2 activity by BMP4 is critical for germ cell development.

Professor Ian Chambers of the University of Edinburgh said, "Before, the study of germ cell identity focused on a series of events that occurred during germ cell development. We are now able to begin to observe early events that occur during germ cell development. These exciting discoveries open the door to a better understanding of the earliest stages of controlling the separation of germ cells from all other cells."

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