ES cells were maintained on mitomycin C treated MEFs in ESC Growth Media (15% FCS (ES Cell grade, Invitrogen), DMEM, essential amino acids, 10 µM mercapto-ethanol, 2 mM glutamine, 100 U/ml LIF (Chemicon International), penicillin and streptomycin). Culture techniques used were described previously [66]. Lines were passaged 3 times onto gelatinized plates to remove MEFs prior to experiments.