Cripto is essential to capture mouse epiblast stem cell and human embryonic stem cell pluripotency.

Stem cell plasticity is crucial for early embryo development and the differentiation of stem cells. Here, the authors show that the extracellular protein Cripto sustains mouse ESC self-renewal and maintains mouse EpiSC as well as human ESC pluripotency and controls the metabolic reprogramming in ESCs to EpiSC transition.