Abstract
No-one can have failed to notice the splash that induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have made in the few years since somatic cells were first reprogrammed to pluripotency. But what is their real promise, where should research efforts be focused, and are we at a stage where we can replace embryonic stem cells? Four pioneering iPS cell researchers offer their personal insights into these and other questions of current debate. As well expressing hope for the improved understanding and treatment of human disease, they urge caution over safety and propose the establishment of iPS cell banks.
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Konrad Hochedlinger is a member of the scientific advisory board of iPierian.
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Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte's homepages
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Glossary
- Bivalent histone modification
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The co-occurrence of histone tail methylation marks that are associated with transcriptional activation and repression. Bivalency is observed in mammalian embryonic stem cells at developmentally important genes.
- DNA methylome
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The pattern of DNA methylation across the genome. Many DNA methylation marks are set up during early mammalian development and are erased in the germ line.
- Neurosphere
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A cluster of neurogenic cells that is generated from a single neural stem cell or progenitor cell when it is cultured in a semi-solid medium that contains appropriate neurotrophic growth factors.
- p53
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A transcription factor encoded by TP53 that is known to be a tumour suppressor and to be involved in the regulation of many cellular pathways, including the cell cycle.
- Reprogramming factors
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Transcription factors that enable reprogramming to pluripotency when expressed together in adult somatic cells. The four factors originally used were OCT4, SOX2, Krüppel-like factor 4 and MYC.
- Teratoma
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A tumour consisting of several cell types.
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Belmonte, J., Ellis, J., Hochedlinger, K. et al. Induced pluripotent stem cells and reprogramming: seeing the science through the hype. Nat Rev Genet 10, 878–883 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2700
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2700
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