Thiazovivin, a Rho kinase inhibitor, improves stemness maintenance of embryo-derived stem-like cells under chemically defined culture conditions in cattle.

Despite numerous reported attempts, successful isolation of genuine embryonic stem cells of cattle has been rare. Previous studies have shown that Thiazovivin, a Rho-associated kinase inhibitor, improves the survival and self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells. The present study demonstrates the effect of Thiazovivin on the derivation of embryo-derived stem-like cells. Attachment rates of blastocyst and embryonic cell clumps onto feeder cells in the Thiazovivin treatment group were greater than those of the control group. The pluripotency markers of the OCT4 and NANOG genes, and the adhesion molecule E-cadherin were increased by Thiazovivin treatment. This study suggests that Thiazovivin treatment improves the maintenance of stemness in a putative stem-like cell populations of cattle by promoting the expression of pluripotency marker genes, as well as enhancing the expression of the E-cadherin gene, resulting in an increase in cell adhesion.