Totipotent stem cells (TSCs), can develop into complete organisms, are used in biological fields such as regenerative medicine, mammalian breeding, and conservation. However, it is difficult to maintain the developmental totipotency and self-renewal capacity of cells cultured from early-stage embryos, which becomes a key factor limiting the research of TSCs. Fortunately, a breakthrough in the study of induced pluripotent stem cells returning to their totipotent state has been made, resulting in the establishment of multiple TSCs and igniting a new wave of stem cell research. Furthermore, the blastocyst-like structures can be generated by the established TSCs, which lays a foundation for synthetic embryos in vitro. In this review, we summarize the totipotent stage of early embryos, the establishment and cultivation of TSCs, and the developmental ability exploration of TSCs to promote further research of TSCs.
Keywords: blastomeres; expanded potential stem cells; extended pluripotent stem cells; molecular mechanisms; totipotent blastomere-like cells; totipotent stem cells; zygote.