Rapid conversion of human ESCs into mouse ESC-like pluripotent state by optimizing culture conditions

The pluripotent state between human and mouse embryonic stem cells is different. Pluripotent state of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is believed to be primed and is similar with that of mouse epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs), which is different from the naïve state of mouse ESCs. Human ESCs could be converted into a naïve state through exogenous expression of defined transcription factors (Hanna et al., 2010). Here we report a rapid conversion of human ESCs to mouse ESC-like naïve states only by modifying the culture conditions. These converted human ESCs, which we called mhESCs (mouse ESC-like human ESCs), have normal karyotype, allow single cell passage, exhibit domed morphology like mouse ESCs and express some pluripotent markers similar with mouse ESCs. Thus the rapid conversion established a naïve pluripotency in human ESCs like mouse ESCs, and provided a new model to study the regulation of pluripotency.