Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of preimplantation embryos. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be generated by somatic cell reprogramming following the exogenous expression of specific transcription factors (Oct-3/4, KLF4, SOX2, and c-Myc). Stem cell pluripotency can be defined and experimentally evaluated by assessing the ability of starting cell populations to differentiate into somatic cell types that arise from the three vertebrate germ layers: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. In addition, embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells are characterized by the ability to undergo long-term self-renewal in vitro when cultured with growth factors provided by feeder cells or defined culture media. Pluripotent stem cell phenotypes can be modulated by chemical compounds and small bioactive molecules that enhance the proliferation or direct the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells.

View all our pluripotent stem cell resources at R&D Systems.

• Ectodermal Lineage Markers
• Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Markers
• Endodermal Lineage Markers
• Mesodermal Lineage Markers
• Stem Cell Transcription Factors
• Tocris Small Molecules for Stem Cell Research

Related Information

• New ExCellerate™ iPSC Expansion Medium
• Human/Mouse Pluripotent Stem Cell 4-Color Flow Cytometry Kit
• Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Functional Identification Kit
• Proteome Profiler Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Array Kit
• GloLIVE Antibodies to Verify Pluripotency in Live Stem Cells
• ES/iPS Differentiation and Lineage Marker Schematic: Interactive Pathway