Abstract：
The relationship of embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells, the stem cells of germ cell- or embryo-derived teratocarcinoma tumors, to early embryonic cells came under intense scrutiny in the early 1970s when mouse chimeras were produced between EC cells and embryos. These chimeras raised tantalizing possibilities and high hopes for different areas of research. The normalization of EC cells by the embryo lent validity to their use as in vitro models for embryogenesis and indicated that they might reveal information about the relationship between malignancy and differentiation. Chimeras also showed the way for the potential introduction of genes, selected in EC cells in vitro, into the germ line of mice. Although EC cells provided material for the elucidation of early embryonic events and stimulated many studies of early molecular differentiation, after years of intense scrutiny, they fell short as the means of genetic manipulation of the germ line, although arguably they pointed the way to the development of embryonic stem (ES) cells that eventually fulfilled this goal.
摘要：
胚胎癌（EC）细胞的关系，生殖细胞或胚胎来源的畸胎癌肿瘤的干细胞，早期胚胎细胞在1970年代初受到严格审查，当时在EC细胞和胚胎之间产生了小鼠嵌合体。这些嵌合体提出了诱人的可能性，并对不同领域的研究寄予厚望。胚胎对EC细胞的正常化为其用作胚胎发生的体外模型提供了有效性，并表明它们可能揭示有关恶性与分化之间关系的信息。Chimeras还显示了潜在的基因导入方式，在体外选择EC细胞，进入小鼠的生殖系。尽管EC细胞为阐明早期胚胎事件提供了材料，并刺激了许多早期分子分化的研究，经过多年的严格审查，它们作为生殖系的遗传操作手段，尽管可以说，他们为最终实现这一目标的胚胎干（ES）细胞的发育指明了道路。
