ENDOGENOUS RETROVIRUS TRANSCRIPTION AS A MARKER FOR PRIMATE NAÏVE PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS

The present invention relates to the use of one or more type 7 long terminal repeat (LTR7) nucleic acid sequences of type H human endogenous retroviruses (HERVH) ("LTR7/HERVH nucleic acid sequences") for identifying primate naive pluripotent stem cells. The invention is directed to the use of LTR7/HERVH nucleic acid sequences as a marker, wherein LTR7/HERVH-associated transcription is used as a marker for primate naive pluripotent stem cells. The invention also relates to a reporter construct comprising LTR7/HERVH nucleic acid sequences in addition to the use of said reporter, in particular for optimizing culture conditions for naïve primate pluripotent stem cells. The invention also relates to a cell growth medium for cultivation of primate naive pluripotent stem cells that preferably exhibit elevated levels of LTR7/HERVH-associated transcription in comparison to control cells.