Capturing Identity and Fate Ex Vivo: Stem Cells from the Mouse Blastocyst.
During mouse preimplantation development, three molecularly, morphologically, and spatially distinct lineages are formed, the embryonic epiblast, the extraembryonic primitive endoderm, and the trophectoderm. Stem cell lines representing each of these lineages have now been derived and can be indefinitely maintained and expanded in culture, providing an unlimited source of material to study the interplay of tissue-specific transcription factors and signaling pathways involved in these fundamental cell fate decisions. Here we outline our current understanding of the derivation, maintenance, and properties of these in vitro stem cell models representing the preimplantation embryonic lineages.
['Garg|V|V|', 'Morgani|S|S|', 'Hadjantonakis|A-K|AK|']
D000818:Animals D001755:Blastocyst D019070:Cell Lineage D004475:Ectoderm D004707:Endoderm D051379:Mice D000066450:Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Preimplantation development Embryonic stem cells Epiblast stem cells Extraembryonic stem cells Trophoblast stem cells