Generation of trophoblast stem cells.

The isolation and culture of both embryonic and extraembryonic stem cells provide an enormous opportunity to study the molecular processes that establish and maintain lineage-specific, monoallelic patterns of gene expression. This chapter describes the isolation an culture of trophectoderm stem cells from mouse blastocyst stage embryos. Using this powerful in vitro system, scientists can now begin to tease apart the epigenetic processes that result in placental patterns of imprinted gene expression and begin to better understand the role these genes play in development and disease.