Abstract
Embryonic stem (ES) cells are used in various fields for diverse purposes, including gene targeting, cell therapy, tissue repair, organ regeneration, and so on. However, studies on and applications of ES cells are hindered by ethical disputes regarding cell source. To circumvent ethical issues, scientists have attempted to generate ES celllike cells, which are not derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst-stage embryos. In 2006, Yamanaka first reprogrammed mouse embryonic fibroblasts into ES cell-like cells, which were called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Nearly a year later, the Yamanaka and Thomson laboratories independently reprogrammed human somatic cells into iPS cells. Since the establishment of the first iPS cell line, iPS cells have been derived from a number of different cell types and have been used for cell therapy, human disease modeling, and drug discovery. The use of peripheral blood facilitates research on iPS cells and enables the establishment of patient-specific iPS cells. With the improvement in iPS cell technology, clinical therapy based on iPS cells will rapidly develop.
Highlights
Embryonic stem (ES) cells are totipotent cells derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst-stage embryos
We focus on the origins, differentiation, and applications of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells
These findings demonstrated that reprogramming factors, which are expressed in ES cells, could induce pluripotency in somatic cells
Summary
Embryonic stem (ES) cells are totipotent cells derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst-stage embryos. Totipotency is the potential to differentiate into various kinds of cells, such as muscle cells, neural cells, and even germ cells. Due to this property, ES cells can be used to generate any type of cell to meet the requirements of different applications. Human ES cells were established back in 1998 [2], research on these cells and their clinical application have been restricted by ethical disputes regarding cell source and immunological rejection in cell therapy. To develop a new kind of stem cell with self-renewal properties and pluripotency, scientists have tried to reprogram somatic cells through many methods, such as nuclear transfer [3,4], cell fusion [5], and so on. We provide a discussion on the potential issues on and future perspectives for iPS cells
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