title: Naive and primed pluripotent states.
abstract: After maternal predetermination gives way to zygotic regulation, a ground state is established within the mammalian embryo. This tabula rasa for embryogenesis is present only transiently in the preimplantation epiblast. Here, we consider how unrestricted cells are first generated and then prepared for lineage commitment. We propose that two phases of pluripotency can be defined: naive and primed. This distinction extends to pluripotent stem cells derived from embryos or by molecular reprogramming ex vivo.
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research, Department of Physiology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QR, UK.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.forename: Austin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D005855:Germ Layers / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*