Methods
(1) somatic cell reprogramming of adult fibroblasts with OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, MYC (OSKM) and (2) cell fate conversion of naive and extended pluripotent stem cells. The resulting induced/converted hTSCs recapitulated hallmarks of hTSCs including long-term self-renewal, expression of specific transcription factors, transcriptomic signature, and the potential to differentiate into syncytiotrophoblast and extravillous trophoblast cells. We also clarified the developmental stage of hTSCs and show that these cells resemble day 8 cytotrophoblasts. Altogether, hTSC lines of diverse genetic origins open the possibility to model both placental development and diseases in a dish.
