text: Cell differentiation involves a transition from a proliferative mode toward differentiation mode. Directed differentiation consists in mimicking developmental (embryo's development) decisions in vitro using the stem cells as source material. For this purpose, pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are cultured in controlled conditions involving specific substrate or extracellular matrices promoting cell adhesion and differentiation, and define culture media compositions. A limited number of signaling factors such as growth factors or small molecules, controlling cell differentiation, is applied sequentially or in a combinatorial manner, at varying dosage and exposure time. Proper differentiation of the cell type of interest is verified by analyzing  cell type specific markers, gene expression profile, and functional assays.