Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are cells which have the capability to self-renew and to develop into progenitors, and therefore into all the cells of the body, except for extra-embryonic tissues. PSCs differentiation represents a powerful and manageable model to study mammalian development in vitro. Besides well-established conventional mouse and human embryonic stem cells, the discovery of totipotent blastomere-like cells (TBLCs), expanded potential stem cells (EPSCs), and post-implantation epiblast-derived formative stem cells have greatly broadened the horizons of developmental-lineage commitment and regenerative medicine. PSC research is a state-of-the-art field that has the potential to revolutionize methods to decipher the developmental trajectories of cell lineages and the pathology of human diseases. Using the combination of directed PSC differentiation and genetic engineering, researchers have developed a system to model human diseases with an unprecedented depth. The astonishing capability of PSCs to differentiate and self-organize has led to the development of 3D cell culture models. Recent studies on PSC-derived embryo-like structures have increased our capacity to understand embryogenesis and model human early development. The advent of organoids from PSCs has led to new progress in learning the functions of various cell types and multi-tissue interactions in vitro.

The goal of this collection is to invite the latest research that involves (but is not limited to) widely used protocols for establishing and studying TBLCs, EPSCs, formative stem cells, blastoids and gastruloids; methods to refine and improve existing approaches; and ultimately, to make such protocols more accessible to researchers interested in this field.