Loss of tight junctions disrupts gastrulation patterning and increases differentiation towards the germ cell lineage in human pluripotent stem cells

In this study, we aim to understand the role of tight junction expression in morphogen signaling receptiveness and differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). To this end, we knockdown zonula occludens-1 (ZO1) a key component of the tight junction complex, and observe that ZO1 KD hPSCs are biased in their differentiation potential. We decouple whether this differentiation bias is a result of altered pluripotency or changes in signaling dynamics.