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Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are undifferentiated pluripotent cells, meaning they can produce any cell type in the body. This gives them tremendous potential in science and medicine since they can generate specific cell types for use in research or to replace body cells lost due to damage or disease.

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells were first discovered in mice in 1981 by Martin Evans. In 1998, James Thomson identified a method to isolate embryonic stem cells from humans. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are obtained from 3-5 day old embryos that remain unused after an in vitro fertilization procedure.
ES cells are grown in a culture medium where they can divide indefinitely, creating ES cell lines. Under certain conditions, ES cells can differentiate, either spontaneously into a variety of...

Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation

Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation

The development of all multicellular organisms starts with the fusion of haploid cells called sperm and egg to form a diploid zygote. A zygote is a totipotent cell that can develop into a complete organism. The zygote undergoes cell division or cleavage to form an 8-cell mass. Until this stage, the cells are spherical, loosely attached, and remain totipotent. Totipotent cells are capable of developing both the embryonic and the extraembryonic tissues. However, as they continue to divide, they...

Maintenance of the ES Cell State

Maintenance of the ES Cell State

The cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass only remain pluripotent for a short time. This state of pluripotency and self-renewal can be maintained in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture by adding specific chemicals or growth factors to ensure the cells can continue dividing and later differentiate into different cell types. In some cases, the cells are grown on a feeder layer of differentiated cells, which provides the growth factors and extracellular matrix components necessary for stem cell...

Stem Cell Culture

Stem Cell Culture

Stem cell research aims to find ways to use stem cells to regenerate and repair cellular damage. Over time, most adult cells undergo the wear and tear of aging and lose their ability to divide and repair themselves. Stem cells do not display a particular morphology or function. Adult stem cells, which exist as a small subset of cells in most tissues, keep dividing and can differentiate into a number of specialized cells generally formed by that tissue. These cells enable the body to renew and...

Source And Potency Of Stem Cells

Source And Potency Of Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with extensive self-renewal properties that help them maintain their population during the fetal and adult stages of life. They can specialize in all cell types of the human body. However, their differential potential may vary and can be classified into five types. Stem cells can be (1) Totipotent, (2) Pluripotent, (3) Multipotent, (4) Oligopotent, and (5) Unipotent. Each stem cell has a specific origin; the fertilized egg or zygote is a totipotent cell and...

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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Developing HiPSC Derived Serum Free Embryoid Bodies for the Interrogation of 3-D Stem Cell Cultures Using Physiologically Relevant Assays

Developing HiPSC Derived Serum Free Embryoid Bodies for the Interrogation of 3-D Stem Cell Cultures Using Physiologically Relevant Assays

Published on: July 20, 2017

Embryonic stem cell biology.

Michael K Fritsch¹, Don B Singer

¹Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 5250 MSC, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA. mkfritsch@wisc.edu

Advances in Pediatrics

|December 4, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Embryonic stem cell (ES cell) research has advanced our understanding of human development and differentiation. While clinical applications for treating diseases are still under development, improved methods for generating specific cell types show promise.

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Developing HiPSC Derived Serum Free Embryoid Bodies for the Interrogation of 3-D Stem Cell Cultures Using Physiologically Relevant Assays

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Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Stem Cell Research

Background:

Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) hold potential for regenerative medicine.
Early predictions of rapid clinical cures for diseases using ES cells have not yet materialized.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the current state of ES cell research.
To highlight advancements in understanding human development and differentiation.
To assess the progress towards clinical applications of ES cell-derived therapies.

Main Methods:

Review of current literature on ES cell research.
Analysis of progress in generating differentiated cell populations.
Evaluation of the potential for clinical translation.

Main Results:

ES cell research has significantly expanded knowledge of human development and cellular differentiation.
Methods for generating specific, purified cell populations for transplantation have improved.
The clinical utility of ES cell-derived cells in humans remains largely untested.

Conclusions:

ES cell research has yielded substantial insights into developmental biology.
Further research is needed to overcome biological hurdles for successful clinical application of ES cell therapies.
Future efforts aim to enable the treatment of human diseases using ES cell-derived cells.