ESGRO-2i Medium: Inhibitor-Based Serum-free Medium for ES and iPS Cell Culture

In this study, scientists explore the use of inhibitor-based, serum-free and feeder-free ESGRO-2i medium (EMD Millipore) for culturing mES cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells).

The discovery that the inhibition of differentiation inducing signals is critical for mES cell self renewal even in absence of the cytokine Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) led to a new definition of the ground state of ES cell self-renewal1. Inhibitors that block MAPK/Erk pathway, in combination with the glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inhibitor, protect mES cells from differentiation-inducing signals, allowing for self-renewal in serum-free medium2,3. However, mES cells maintain their LIF responsiveness.