ESC self-renewal and pluripotency in mouse are regulated by extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Extrinsic factors include LIF, BMP and WNT while the intrinsic machinery includes the transcription factors Oct4, Nanog and SOX2. LIF signaling is a major pathway contributing to mouse ESC pluripotency. LIF signals through the heterodimerization of LIFR and GP130 receptors. On binding LIF, the LIFR-GP130 heterodimer recruits JAK to phosphorylate STAT3...