title: The TGFβ superfamily in stem cell biology and early mammalian embryonic development.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Members of the Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGFβ) superfamily of cytokines are essential for early embryonic development and play crucial roles in pluripotency and differentiation of embryonic stem cells in vitro.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this review, we discuss how TGFβ family signals are read by cells and how they are modulated by the cellular context. Furthermore, we review recent advances in our understanding of TGFβ function in embryonic stem cells and point out hot topics at the intersection of TGFβ signaling and stem cell biology fields.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TGFβ family signals are essential for early mammalian development and the importance of this pathway is reflected in pluripotent stem cells derived from the mammalian embryo.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Understanding signaling pathways underlying pluripotency and cell fate specification holds promises for the advent of personalized regenerative medicine. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Biochemistry of Stem Cells.
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Tobias A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Narimatsu
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wrana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta