Primate embryo model leaps across developmental boundaries

Kong, Xiangyu; Theunissen, Thorold W.

doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03729-7

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03 December 2025

Primate embryo model leaps across developmental boundaries

A stem-cell-based monkey embryo model that self-organizes into a comprehensive body plan could lead the way to more-sophisticated models of early human development.

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Xiangyu Kong
1. Xiangyu Kong is in the Department of Developmental Biology and Center of Regenerative Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
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Thorold W. Theunissen
1. Thorold W. Theunissen is in the Department of Developmental Biology and Center of Regenerative Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
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When a child studies a worm, they might first examine it closely, then gently prod it with a stick to see how it reacts. In much the same way, the scientific method is based on observing nature and testing how it responds after perturbation. But when the subject of enquiry is the human embryo, direct experimentation is not possible because of ethical boundaries. Instead, researchers have turned to stem-cell-based embryo models built in the laboratory as a way to explore early development without crossing those boundaries. Writing in Nature, Li et al.¹ report the generation of a monkey embryo model that replicates key aspects of the first three weeks of primate development, opening up avenues for similar studies with human cells.

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Nature 649, 34-35 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03729-7

References

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Competing Interests

T.W.T. is an adviser for Stately Bio and an inventor on patent applications related to naive pluripotent stem cells and human embryo models.

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[1] Li, J. et al. Nature 649, 161–172 (2026).
Article Google Scholar

[2] Warmflash, A., Sorre, B., Etoc, F., Siggia, E. D. & Brivanlou, A. H. Nature Methods 11, 847–854 (2014).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[3] Rivron, N. C. et al. Nature 557, 106–111 (2018).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[4] Harrison, S. E., Sozen, B., Christodoulou, N., Kyprianou, C. & Zernicka-Goetz, M. Science 356, eaal1810 (2017).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[5] Yu, L. et al. Nature 591, 620–626 (2021).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[6] Yanagida, A. et al. Cell Stem Cell 28, 1016–1022 (2021).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[7] Weatherbee, B. A. T. et al. Nature 622, 584–593 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[8] Oldak, B. et al. Nature 622, 562–573 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[9] Kagawa, H. et al. Nature 601, 600–605 (2022).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[10] Liu, L. et al. Cell 186, 3776–3792 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[11] Pedroza, M. et al. Nature 622, 574–583 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[12] Li, J. et al. Cell Stem Cell 30, 362–377 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[13] Zhai, J. et al. Nature 612, 732–738 (2022).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[14] Gong, Y. et al. Cell 186, 2092–2110 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[15] Perea-Gomez, A. et al. Dev. Cell 3, 745–756 (2002).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[16] Bergmann, S. et al. Nature 609, 136–143 (2022).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[17] Sasaki, K. et al. Dev. Cell 39, 169–185 (2016).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[18] Karvas, R. M. et al. Cell Stem Cell 30, 1148–1165 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[19] Guo, M. et al. Nature Commun. 15, 668 (2024).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

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