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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Efficient Neural Differentiation using Single-Cell Culture of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Published on: January 18, 2020
Lonely death dance of human pluripotent stem cells: ROCKing between metastable cell states
Masatoshi Ohgushi1, Yoshiki Sasai
1Unit for Human Stem Cell Technology, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan.
Abstract:
Two kinds of human pluripotent cells, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), promise new avenues for medical innovation. These human cells share many similarities with mouse counterparts, including pluripotency, and they exhibit several unique properties. This review examines the diversity of mammalian pluripotent cells from a perspective of metastable pluripotency states. An intriguing phenomenon unique to human pluripotent stem cells is dissociation-induced apoptosis, which has been a technical problem for various cellular manipulations. The discovery that this apoptosis is suppressed by ROCK inhibitors brought revolutionary change to this troublesome situation. We discuss possible links of the metastable pluripotent state to ROCK-dependent human embryonic stem cell apoptosis and summarize recent progress in molecular understandings of this phenomenon.
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