Figure 1

Developmental potential of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. A). Chimera and tetraploid embryo complementation assays for evaluating the pluripotency of pluripotent stem cells. Chimeric mice are produced by aggregation of iPS cells with normal diploid embryos. For tetraploid embryo complementation, the full-term organism is produced by iPS cells, whereas the extraembryonic placenta is derived from a tetraploid embryo that is generated by electric fusion of a 2-cell stage embryo. B). Functional assays for evaluating the differentiation potential of stem cells. Spermatogonial stem cells are unipotent stem cells and can differentiate into sperm as well as contribute toward formation of the testes after transplantation. Hematopoietic stem cells are multipotent stem cells and can differentiate into various hematopoietic cells and contribute toward bone marrow. Moreover, hematopoietic stem cells can reconstruct the entire hematopoietic system of irradiated mice. ES cells are pluripotent stem cells and can theoretically differentiate into all cell types of an organism. Following transplantation into normal diploid blastocysts, ES cells contribute toward the formation of all tissues of the chimera. Furthermore, ES cells can reconstruct the entire organism following a tetraploid embryo complementation assay.