Patent Document ID: 20120301437
Application ID: 13306114
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method of identifying a factor that promotes lineage-specific differentiation of pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), comprising: (a). exposing a compound to substantially undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells being cultured in a growth environment which is essentially free of xenogeneic feeder cells, free of added conditioned medium from feeder cells, and free of serum, and which comprises a defined culture medium and an extracellular matrix comprising laminin. (b). determining whether the substantially undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells begin to differentiate to a particular somatic lineage following exposure to the test compound; and, if so, (c). identifying the compound as a factor that promotes lineage-specific differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells.