New tools to study the origin of embryonic stem cells
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified cell surface markers specific for the very earliest stem cells in the human embryo. These cells are thought to possess great potential for replacing damaged tissue but until now have been difficult to distinguish from classical embryonic stem cells. The study is published in the prestigious journal Cell Stem Cell.During the first week of fertilisation, the embryo grows from a single cell into a blastocyst, a hollow cluster of a few hundred cells. The blastocyst then attaches itself to the wall of the uterus (implantation), and for a