Assuring Pluripotency of ESC and iPSC Lines

Compared to other cell types, stem cells have the unique ability to “self-renew” their populations by dividing into identical daughter stem cells as well as a capacity for “differentiation” into more specialized cell types. In this way, stem cells provide the body’s foundation during embryogenesis and facilitate tissue growth and repair later in life. However, stem cells demonstrate different degrees of differentiation potency. Pluripotent stem cells are of particular interest in clinical and developmental biology research as these cells have the capacity to specialize into cell types originating from the three germ layers (i.e., ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm) that go on to form the entire body.