Lifr participates in germ layer lineage choice of pluripotent stem cells.

The organ systems of the human body are each derived from three germ layers: the endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. We defined here using transcriptomics a minimal set of components required or important for germ layer fate choice to the endoderm in the first trimester of human development. We describe a requirement for the Lif receptor (Lifr) in germ layer lineage choice from pluripotent stem cells in Homo sapiens.