In vitro differentiation of stem cells into functional gametes remains of great interest in the biomedical field. Skin-derived stem cells (SDSCs) are an adult stem cells that provides a wide range of clinical applications without inherent ethical restrictions. In this paper, porcine SDSCs were successfully differentiated into primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs) in conditioned media. The PGCLCs were characterized in terms of cell morphology, marker gene expression, and epigenetic properties. Furthermore, we also found that 25 μM melatonin (MLT) significantly increased the proliferation of the SDSC-derived PGCLCs while acting through the MLT receptor type 1 (MT1). RNA-seq results found the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was more active when PGCLCs were cultured with MLT. Moreover, the effect of MLT was attenuated by the use of S26131 (MT1 antagonist), crenolanib (platelet-derived growth factor receptor inhibitor), U0126 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor), or CCG-1423 (serum response factor transcription inhibitor), suggesting that MLT promotes the proliferation processes through the MAPK pathway. Taken together, this study highlights the role of MLT in promoting PGCLCs proliferation. Importantly, this study provides a suitable in vitro model for use in translational studies and could help to answer numerous remaining questions related to germ cell physiology.
Keywords: MAPK signaling pathway; melatonin; platelet-derived growth factor; primordial germ cell-like cells; proliferation; serum response factor; skin-derived stem cells.
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