Description Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF), a lymphoid factor, belongs to the interleukin 6 class cytokine1. LIF binds to the specific LIF receptor (LIFR-α) and forms a heterodimer with the GP130 signal transducing subunit, which leads to the activation of the JAK/STAT and MAPK cascades2. LIF is also involved in a wide variety of biological processes including hematopoietic cell proliferation, neuronal survival and formation, and bone formation. It is used to maintain the pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC). Using the current human ESC culture method, human LIF is not required. But recent studies showed that the human ESC is the prime stem cell. The more totipotent human ESC, or called naïve stem cell, which is more like mouse ESC, can be isolated using LIF or induced by introducing Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, cMyc, with small molecules3,4 or plus two other factors Nr5a2, and RxRγ into the differentiated cells5.
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Purity > 99% (by SDS Page)
Buffer Phosphate buffered saline with 1% w/v BSA.
Endotoxin Level < 1.0 EU/mg as determined by the LAL method
Biologic Activity The specific activity is at least 1 x 106 units/ml, where 50 units is defined as the amount of human LIF required to induce differentiation in 50% of the M1 myeloid leukemia cell colonies in 1 ml agar cultures.
Storage & Handling Store at 4°C.Freeze-thaw should be avoided.
Stability Stable for up to 6 months from date of receipt when stored as directed.
References 1. Williams R.L., Hilton, D.J., Pease, S., Willson, T.A., Stewart, C.L., et al (1988)
Myeloid leukemia inhibitory factor maintains the developmental potential of
embryonic stem cells. Nature 336:686-7.
2. Marina Trouillas, Claire Saucourt, Bertrand Guillotin, Xavier Gauthereau, Jean-Luc Taupin, Jean-François Moreau, Hélène Bœuf (2009) European Cytokine Network 20:51-62.
3. Hanna, J., Cheng, A.W., Saha, K., Kim, J., Lengner, C.J., Soldner, F., Cassady, J.P., Muffat, J., Carey, B.W., and Jaenisch, R. (2010) Human embryonic stem cells with biological and epigenetic characteristics similar to those of mouse ESCs. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 107: 9222-9227.
4. Xu Y, Zhu X, Hahm HS, Wei W, Hao E, Hayek A, Ding S (2010) Revealing a core signaling regulatory mechanism for pluripotent stem cell survival and self-renewal by small molecules. PNAS 107:8129-34.
5. Wang W, Yang J, Liu H, Lu D, Chen X, Zenonos Z, Campos LS, Rad R, Guo G, Zhang S, Bradley A, Liu P. (2011) Rapid and efficient reprogramming of somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells by retinoic acid receptor gamma and liver receptor homolog 1. PNAS 108:18283-8.