Abstract
Murine embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cell lines established directly from the early embryo1,2 which can contribute differentiated progeny to all adult tissues, including the germ-cell lineage3, after re-incorporation into the normal embryo. They provide both a cellular vector for the generation of transgenic animals4 and a useful system for the identification of polypeptide factors controlling differentiation processes in early development5. In particular, medium conditioned by Buffalo rat liver cells contains a polypeptide factor, ES cell differentiation inhibitory activity (DIA), which specifically suppresses the spontaneous differentiation of ES cells in vitro, thereby permitting their growth as homogeneous stem cell populations in the absence of heterologous feeder cells6. ES cell pluripotentiality, including the ability to give rise to functional gametes, is preserved after prolonged culture in Buffalo rat liver media as a source of DIA7. Here, we report that purified DIA is related in structure and function to the recently identified haemopoetic regulatory factors human interleukin for DA cells8,9 and leukaemia inhibitory factor10. DIA and human interleukin DA/leukaemia inhibitory factor have thus been identified as related multifunctional regulatory factors with distinct biological activities in both early embryonic and haemopoetic stem cell systems.
This is a preview of subscription content
Access options
Subscribe to Journal
Get full journal access for 1 year
$199.00
only $3.90 per issue
All prices are NET prices.
VAT will be added later in the checkout.
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.
Buy article
Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.
$32.00
All prices are NET prices.
References
Evans, M. J. & Kaufman, M. Nature 292, 154–156 (1981).
Martin, G. R. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 7634–7638 (1981).
Bradley, A., Evans, M., Kaufman, M. H. & Robertson, E. Nature 309, 255–256 (1984).
Robertson, E. J. Trends Genet. 2, 9–13 (1986).
Heath, J. K., Smith, A. G., Wills, A. J. & Edwards J. Cell Sci. Sup (in the press).
Smith, A. G. & Hooper, M. L. Devl Biol. 121, 1–9 (1987).
Hooper, M., Hardy, K., Handyside, A., Hunter, S. & Monk, M. Nature 326, 292–2857 (1987).
Moreau, J. F. et al. Annls Inst. Pasteur, Immunol. 137, 25–37 (1986).
Moreau, J. F. et al. J. Immun. 138, 3844–3849 (1987).
Gearing, D. P. et al. EMBO J. 6, 3995–4002 (1987).
Solter, D. & Knowles, B. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75, 5565–5569 (1978).
Moreau, J-F. et al. Nature 336, 690–692 (1988).
Gough, N. M. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 2623–2627 (1988).
Williams, R. L. et al. Nature 336, 684–687 (1988).
Laemmli, U. K. Nature 227, 680–685 (1970).
Mendel, C. M. & Mendel, D. B. Biochem. J. 228, 269–272 (1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, A., Heath, J., Donaldson, D. et al. Inhibition of pluripotential embryonic stem cell differentiation by purified polypeptides. Nature 336, 688–690 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/336688a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/336688a0
Further reading
-
Dppa3 facilitates self-renewal of embryonic stem cells by stabilization of pluripotent factors
Stem Cell Research & Therapy (2022)
-
An engineered ligand trap inhibits leukemia inhibitory factor as pancreatic cancer treatment strategy
Communications Biology (2021)
-
Gadd45g initiates embryonic stem cell differentiation and inhibits breast cell carcinogenesis
Cell Death Discovery (2021)
-
Leukemia inhibitory factor regulates Schwann cell proliferation and migration and affects peripheral nerve regeneration
Cell Death & Disease (2021)
-
Geometrically defined environments direct cell division rate and subcellular YAP localization in single mouse embryonic stem cells
Scientific Reports (2021)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
