Practice question

True pluripotent stem cells derived from inner cell mass, such as embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, can differentiate into derivatives of ectoderm like neurons and epidermis, mesoderm like cardiomyocytes, skeletal muscle, and hematopoietic cells, and endoderm like hepatocytes and pancreatic beta cells under directed induction protocols. They do not normally contribute to extraembryonic trophoblast or primitive endoderm after implantation, distinguishing them from totipotent zygote and early blastomeres. This limited embryonic competence makes them valuable for germ layer disease modelling without placental lineages confounding interpretation.