Pioneering stem cell model unlocks the secrets of primate gastrulation

An international collaboration co-led by MELIS-UPF and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) developed the first stem cell-derived primate model capable of capturing late gastrulation, a fundamental and previously inaccessible milestone in early embryo development. This breakthrough provides a vital non-protected framework to study how early tissue architectures form. By allowing researchers to directly analyze the impacts of environmental factors and drugs on early development, this model offers an unprecedented toolkit for identifying the cellular origins of congenital human diseases and miscarriage.

Reference:

Li J, Li J, Cao J, Shang S, Zhang L, Gao F, Fu J, Chen H, Cui G, Wu H, Wang X, Martinez-Arias A, Sun Q, Liu Z (2025). Modelling late gastrulation in stem cell-derived monkey embryo models. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09831-0