To characterize the pluripotency of iPSC, a class of defined tests can be used, and usually iPSC are characterized with the criteria applied to ES cells. Due to the differences between iPSC and ES cell expression patterns, their characteristics also not exactly the same. There are a variety of features assessed by characterization, such as cell and colony morphology, the expression of surface markers and other antigens, growth rate, the expression of pluripotency marker genes, enzyme levels, methylation statuses, as well as differentiation into somatic cell types in vitro and in vivo. Learn more: iPSC Characterization