206th iCeMS Seminar: Dr Jun Wu

Embryonic pluripotency can be recapitulated in vitro by a spectrum of pluripotent stem cell states captured by different synthetic niches. Their distinct spatio-temporal characteristics provide an unprecedented tool towards the study of early human development as well as evolution. The newly unveiled ability of some stem cell types for crossing xeno-barriers will facilitate the generation of cross-species chimeric embryos from distant species, including humans. When combined with efficient zygote gene editing technologies, xenogeneic human pluripotent stem cells may also open new frontiers for regenerative translational medicine applications including the possibility of generating human organs in animals via interspecies chimeric complementation.