(英文)
Here we have investigated the unique nature of STAP cells, focusing on their differentiation potential into the two major categories (embryonic and placental lineages) of cells in the blastocyst. We became particularly interested in this question after a blastocyst injection assay revealed an unexpected finding. In general, progeny of injected ES cells are found in the embryonic portion of the chimaera, but rarely in the placental portion (Fig. 1a; shown with Rosa26-GFP). Surprisingly, injected STAP cells contributed not only to the embryo but also to the placenta and fetal membranes (Fig. 1b and Extended Data Fig. 1a–c) in 60% of the chimaeric embryos (Fig. 1c).
