Embryonic germ cells
Human embryonic germ cells (EG cells) are derived from a specific part of the embryo called the gonad ridge. These germ cells normally develop into eggs and sperm. They are isolated from foetuses older than 8 weeks of development.
Australian Stem Cell Centre
While ES cells are similar to EG cells in many ways (such as being able to develop into any cell type), they are different in the way they grow in the laboratory.
ES cell cultures have been grown for over 2 years in the laboratory as immortal cell lines, but embryonic germ cell cultures can only survive about 70 to 80 cell divisions. This makes them less suitable for establishing cell lines for research.
But one advantage of EG cells is that they do not appear to generate tumours when transferred into the body, as embryonic stem cells do. This potentially may make them useful as a source of transplant tissue and cell-based therapies.
One of the greatest issues facing researchers is that their derivation results from the destruction of a foetus. EG cells are isolated from terminated pregnancies and no embryos or foetuses are created for research purposes.
Only mouse EG cells are being studied in Australia.