A universal 6iL/E4 culture system for deriving and maintaining embryonic stem cells across mammalian species

作者：Duo Wang, Hao Ming, Dongshan Yang, Xiang Cui, Zachary Freeman, Li‐Kuang Tsai, Zhuying Wei, Liu Liu, Giovanna Nascimento Scatolin, Brian Bennett, Shuling Wang, Kimberly Yau, Litao Tao, Xinyi Tong, Shuling Wang, Kai‐Xuan Shi, Denis Evseenko, Ben Van Handel, Longhua Guo, Xiaoting Dai, Youcai Xiong, Bingjing Zhang, Yinjuan Wang, Rajan Iyyappan, Oscar Alejandro Ojeda-Rojas, Guang Hu, Lynda K. McGinnis, Richard J. Paulson, Daniel B. McKim, Xiangbo Kong, Xiaofeng Xia, Jifeng Zhang, Y. Eugene Chen, Zongliang Jiang, Jie Xu, Qi‐Long Ying · 发表于：Cell Research · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1038/s41422-026-01276-y · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Pluripotent Stem Cells Research、CRISPR and Genetic Engineering、3D Printing in Biomedical Research

Abstract The derivation of authentic embryonic stem cells (ESCs) across mammalian species remains a major challenge. Here, we report the development of a defined, serum-free culture system, termed 6iL/E4, that enables the derivation and long-term self-renewal of ESCs across diverse mammalian species. Through systematic dissection of signaling pathways, we identified conserved regulatory modules involving GSK3α, WNT, STAT3, PDGFR, and MEK/ERK signaling. The optimized 6iL/E4 conditions support stable derivation and expansion of ESCs from mouse, rat, rabbit, and bovine embryos. For rabbit, ESC derivation required supplementation with the LATS inhibitor TDI-011536 (TDI), and 6iL/TDI-cultured rabbit ESCs exhibited chimera-forming capability. In bovine ESCs, inducible expression of Klf2 and Nanog reinforced pluripotency and promoted in vivo chimeric contribution. Importantly, we demonstrated that 6iL robustly establishes and maintains human pluripotent stem cells in a naïve-like state. These findings reveal conserved principles underlying ESC self-renewal across divergent mammalian species and provide a universal platform for cross-species stem cell research, disease modeling, and biotechnological applications.