The ability of inner-cell-mass cells to self-renew as embryonic stem cells is acquired following epiblast specification

The precise relationship of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to cells in the mouse embryo remains controversial. We present transcriptional and functional data to identify the embryonic counterpart of ESCs. Marker profiling shows that ESCs are distinct from early inner cell mass (ICM) and closely resemble pre-implantation epiblast. A characteristic feature of mouse ESCs is propagation without ERK signalling. Single-cell culture reveals that...