Intermediate progenitors (IPs) amplify the production of pyramidal neurons, but their role in selective genesis of cortical layers or neuronal subtypes remains unclear. Using genetic lineage tracing in mice, we find that IPs destined to produce upper cortical layers first appear early in corticogenesis, by embryonic day 11.5. During later corticogenesis, IP laminar fates are progressively limit...

At about the 20-30 day of embryonic life "Somites" start to appear. In the middle of the fourth week the dorsal portion of each Somite differentiates into an epithelially­arranged mass of cells called der­momyotome (from which the skin and mus­cles originate).  The lateral part of the sermomyotome then proliferates to form dermatome (from ·which originates the derm and Hypoderm).  The medial ...

Background: Activation of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) signaling pathway in embryonic stem (ES) cells plays an important role in controlling cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Adverse effects of BMP4 occur in a time dependent manner; however, little is known about the effect of different time exposure of this growth factor on cell number in culture media. In this study, ...

Until recently, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were shown to exist in a state of primed pluripotency, while mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) display a naive or primed pluripotent state. Here we show the rapid conversion of in-house-derived primed hESCs on mouse embryonic feeder layer (MEF) to a naive state within 5-6 days in naive conversion media (NCM-MEF), 6-10 days in naive human stem ...

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) represent a unique kind of stem cell, as they are able to indefinitely self-renew and hold the potential to differentiate into any derivative of the three germ layers. As such, human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) and human induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs) provide a unique opportunity for studying the earliest steps of human embryogenesis and, at the same time...

BACKGROUND Due to the inherent sensitivity of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to manipulations, the recovery and survival of hESCs after fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) can be low. Additionally, a well characterized and robust methodology for performing FACS on hESCs using multiple-cell surface markers has not been described. The p160-Rho-associated coiled kinase (ROCK) inhibitor,...

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have the ability (i) to duplicate indefinitely while maintaining pluripotency and (ii) to differentiate into cell types of all three embryonic germ layers. These two properties of ESCs and iPSCs make them potentially suitable for tissue engineering and cell replacement therapy for many different diseases, including Parkinson...

Murine embryonic stem (ES) cells are commonly cultured on feeder layers of primary murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Because gene targeting experiments often involve sequential selection for multiple-drug resistance in single ES cell lines, we have developed a new mouse strain which represents an economical donor for the production of multiple-drug resistant MEFs. MEFs prepared from the DR-4...