Inconsistency in using early differentiation markers of human pluripotent stem cells

Abstract

Advances in the field of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) have prompted researchers to advocate for the increased development of dependable therapies to cure degenerative diseases and replace damaged tissues. hPSCs have a one-of-a-kind ability to differentiate into all cell types in the body. The ability to characterise homogeneous primary cell populations, such as pluripotent stem cells and germ layer cells, is required for the efficient generation of adult cells. Several in vitro differentiation protocols for germ layer lineages have been extensively researched. There is, however, no standard set of markers that can be used to separate endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm populations from hPSC differentiation cultures. This review discusses the inconsistency among studies in identifying endodermal, mesodermal, and ectodermal cells using markers. The search was restricted to markers used in the last 5 years to identify differentiated cells of the three germ layers from hPSCs. The focus of this review, however, is on the most commonly used early differentiation markers.

Keywords:

Differentiation markers, ectoderm markers, mesoderm markers, endoderm markers, Early differentiation.