The webinar will focus on pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), their differentiation to somatic cell types and subsequent tissue engineering. The renewable nature of PSCs and their derivative human tissue offers the field a range of tissues for biomedical application. Their potential in modern medicine will be discussed.

I am delighted to be joined by Professor Lingyi Chen from Nankai University. The goal of his important research is to understand the regulatory mechanisms that underlie pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and their differentiation during early embryogenesis, in particular the cell fates of the inner cell mass and the trophectoderm during blastocyst development.

In the blastocyst, PSCs of the inner cell mass form all three germ layers of the developing embryo. Whereas the trophectoderm contributes to extra-embryonic tissue formation. As development proceeds, germ layer segregation takes place and multipotent stem cell populations are formed that differentiate into specialized tissues of the fetus. Essential to normal human development is the hierarchical control of cell potency and fate. This is determined by niche-specific factors and executed through defined changes in gene expression.

Since the 1981, murine ESCs have taken centre stage to model mammalian physiology. It was a further 17 years before the first human ESCs were isolated. This was followed by the induction of pluripotency in rodent somatic cells in 2006, and was quickly extended to human somatic cells the following year. The successful isolation of embryonic stem cells (ECSs) and the induction of pluripotency in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were deemed so important for basic research that two Nobel prizes in Physiology or Medicine were awarded in 2007 and 2012, respectively. To date, a number of PSC-derived products have entered clinical trials offering promise to treat human diseases, such as macular degeneration, diabetes, Parkinson’s and heart disease.

We hope you enjoy our webinar and look forward to seeing you on 17th August 2023.

Date: 17 August 2023 at 11:00 am CEST | 5:00 am EDT | 5:00 pm CST Asia
Webinar ID: 881 3476 7528
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com