The effect of mitochondrial dynamic balance on the embryonic development of stem cells is revealed

recently, the Gaoping Task Force of South China University of Technology, Zhou Qi Group of the Institute of Zoan sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhang Huafeng Task Force of the Chinese University of Science and Technology collaborated to reveal the decisive role of mitochondrial dynamic balance in the development potential of stem cell embryos. The study was published online in Cell-Metabolism.
all-round stem cells have unlimited ability to replicate themselves and can differentiate into all types of somatic cells, which in turn can develop into complete organisms. By comparing iPS cells that can develop into biological individuals and iPS cells that are partially omnipotent but cannot be developed into individuals, the researchers found that the genes associated with regulating mitochondrial division are abnormally highly expressed in partially omnipotent iPS cells, resulting in the mitochondrials of such cells appearing in a "excessively divided" state of shortness and internal structural confusion. Further research confirms that excessive mitochondrial division affects its differentiation potential outside the body.
researchers implanted genetically modified stem cells into the uterus of surrogate mice, using a four-fold compensation experiment to verify that stem cells with excessive mitochondrial division could not develop in individual mice. Mechanism studies have found that excessive division of mitochondrials can lead to elevated levels of calcium ions in the cells, which in turn leads to the degradation of a protein, thus affecting the differentiation potential of stem cells and embryonic development. (Source: Zhu Hanbin, China Science Journal, Lu Qinglei