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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Mar 29.
Published in final edited form as: Dev Cell. 2020 Dec 14;56(3):277–291.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.11.017

Figure 7. Diagram Depicting How EVs Are Used by Pluripotent Cells to Promote Stemness.

Figure 7.

Left: in the blastocyst-stage embryo, the ICM consists of the epiblast and the primitive endoderm and is surrounded by a layer of trophoblasts. The epiblast is where the pluripotent stem cells reside. Right: ESCs are considered to be the in vitro equivalents of epiblast cells, and they generate MVs and exosomes that have fibronectin associated with their surfaces. The transfer of ESC-derived EVs to other ESCs activates FAK and promotes pluripotency.