UConn advances cell-cultivated meat research with new bovine embryonic stem cell line

Researchers at the University of Connecticut have developed a new line of bovine embryonic stem cells that addresses long-standing technical and regulatory challenges in cell-cultivated meat and biomedical research, marking one of the most advanced efforts of its kind to date.

• UConn researchers have derived a bovine embryonic stem cell line that remained stably pluripotent using a custom culture medium developed in-house.

• The cells contained no foreign genes, addressing regulatory and safety concerns for cell-cultivated meat applications.

• UConn Technology Commercialization Services has filed for patent protection and has begun working with industry partners to support commercialization.

The work has been led by Xiuchun 'Cindy' Tian, Professor of Biotechnology in the Department of Animal Science, alongside graduate researchers Yue Su, Jiaxi Liu, and Ruifeng Zhao. The findings have been published in the journal Stem Cells and represent one of only a small number of successful attempts worldwide to derive bovine embryonic stem cells.

The team has derived the pluripotent stem cells during the blastocyst stage of embryonic development, a brief window when cells retain the ability to develop into any tissue type. The blastocyst, a cluster of cells with a fluid-filled center, normally implants in the uterus at this stage. In the laboratory, the researchers instead isolated the cells and grew them using mouse feeder cells alongside a specially formulated culture medium designed to keep them in a pluripotent state.

Few laboratories globally have previously succeeded in developing bovine embryonic stem cells, and Tian’s group identified key biological differences that required a species-specific approach. According to Jiaxi Liu, the new cell line offers functional advantages over earlier efforts.

“The advantage of our cells compared with previous publications is that we can generate the formative embryonic stem cells which can directly induce the primordial germ cell-like cells, the precursor to sperm and eggs, for potential in vitro gametogenesis,” Liu said.

A central advance has come from the development of a unique culture medium. Rather than relying on formulations designed for other species, the team modified a commercially available base medium by adding a precise combination of supplemental small molecules. This tailored approach has produced higher-quality formative stem cells than had been previously reported.

“Every animal species has different requirements to maintain pluripotency because the cells from different animals are all slightly different,” Zhao said. “If you use the medium from another animal species, it will not work. So we added some of the extra factors to make the system work better.”

Maintaining pluripotency remains a core challenge, as embryonic stem cells naturally progress toward differentiation if conditions are not carefully controlled. Tian said the new medium has helped overcome that limitation.

“Our cells, based on our special cocktail of medium, are maintained in such a more pluripotent state than previously reported studies,” she said. “This is an advance in the field.”

The research has built on earlier work from Tian’s lab on bovine induced pluripotent stem cells, which involved reprogramming adult cells through genetic engineering. While effective, that approach introduced foreign genes, raising concerns for applications governed by strict regulatory frameworks.

“That could be a safety issue or a regulatory issue,” Zhao said. “Therefore, we wanted to derive a clean pluripotent cell line just from the embryo.”

Embryonic stem cells also eliminate the need for reprogramming, making them faster and more efficient to work with while reducing variability between cell lines. These characteristics make them particularly attractive for cell-cultivated meat, where consistency and regulatory clarity remain major hurdles.

The cells can be induced to differentiate into muscle and fat, enabling the production of structured beef products such as hamburgers. Beyond food applications, the cell line opens new opportunities in biomedical research, including drug development, antibody screening, and disease modeling.

Because cattle are much larger than standard laboratory animals, bovine-derived tissues can more closely resemble human-scale biology, improving the relevance of certain medical studies. The cells can also support research into early bovine development and the creation of disease-resistant cattle through targeted genetic engineering.

The team is now working to remove mouse feeder cells from the process, a necessary step for commercial food applications. They are also developing a culture system that reduces how frequently the medium needs to be replaced, cutting costs and environmental impact.

“We’re trying to develop longer-term cultures, basically a weekender medium,” Tian said.

UConn Technology Commercialization Services has filed for patent protection and is working with external partners to move the technology toward market readiness. The group is also collaborating with The Good Food Institute to list the new bovine embryonic stem cell line for use in cell-cultivated meat research.

“We hope the bovine ESC cell line now available will further close the gap on this unmet need for bovine culture meat development,” said Ana Fidantsef, UConn industry liaison.

UConn confirmed it is seeking industry partners to support further development and commercialization of the technology.