A role for intracellular calcium downstream of G-protein signaling in undifferentiated human embryonic stem cell culture

► Drug screening implicates G-subunit-mediated signalling in hESC self-renewal. ► Activation of Gα-q/11 coupled GPCR raises free Ca++ and substitutes for bFGF. ► Small molecule modulators of free calcium substitutes for bFGF. ► Lysophosphatidic acid treatment results in phosphorylation of Calmodulin and STAT3.