Fig. 5

Gene expression profiling during the transition of SSCs into ES-like cells using Fluidigm qPCR analysis. This figure shows the relative fold change in mRNA expression (Y-axis) for a panel of pluripotency and germline-associated genes during the reprogramming of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) into ES-like cells. Expression levels were normalized to mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), used as the reference population. Asterisks (“*”) indicate statistically significant differences in gene expression compared to the MEF group (p < 0.05). Significant upregulation was observed in Dppa5, Cdh1, Pou5f1 (OCT4), Zbtb16 (PLZF), Piwil2, CD9, Nanog, Dazl, Thy1, and Tdgf1, reflecting activation of pluripotency and germline programs. Vim expression, however, did not show a significant change, suggesting it is not involved in this transition