Reprogramming epiblast stem cells into pre-implantation blastocyst cell-like cells

Recently, a new wave of synthetic embryo systems (SESs) has been established from cultured cells for efficient and ethical embryonic development research. We recently reported our epiblast stem cell (EPISC) reprogramming SES that generates numerous blastocyst (BC)-like hemispheres (BCLH) with pluripotent and extraembryonic cell features detected by microscopy. Here, we further explored the system over key time points with single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis. We found broad induction of the 2C-like reporter MERVL and RNA velocities diverging to three major cell populations with gene expression profiles resembling those of pluripotent epiblast, primitive endoderm, and trophectoderm. Enrichment of those three induced BC-like cell fates involved key gene-regulatory networks, zygotic genome activation-related genes, and specific RNA splicing, and many cells closely resembled in silico models. This analysis confirms the induction of extraembryonic cell populations during EPISC reprogramming. We anticipate that our unique BCLH SES and rich dataset may uncover new facets of cell potency, improve developmental biology, and advance biomedicine.

Automated summary

A new wave of synthetic embryo systems has been established from cultured cells for efficient and ethical embryonic development research, generating numerous blastocyst-like hemispheres with features of pluripotent and extraembryonic cells. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis revealed induction of multiple cell populations resembling pluripotent epiblast, primitive endoderm, and trophectoderm, enriching specific gene-regulatory networks and zygotic genome activation-related genes. This analysis confirms the induction of extraembryonic cell populations during epiblast stem cell reprogramming, with potential to uncover new facets of cell potency and advance biomedicine.