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Review
. 2010 Feb;235(2):148-58.
doi: 10.1258/ebm.2009.009267.

Induced pluripotent stem cells: what lies beyond the paradigm shift

Jesse L Cox  1 , Angie Rizzino
Affiliations
Review

Induced pluripotent stem cells: what lies beyond the paradigm shift

Jesse L Cox et al. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2010 Feb.

Abstract

The discovery that somatic cells can be reprogrammed to become induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has ushered in a new and exciting era in regenerative medicine. Since the seminal discovery of somatic cell reprogramming by Takahashi and Yamanaka in 2006, there has been remarkable progress in the characterization of iPS cells and the protocols used to generate them. The new information generated during the past year alone has vastly expanded our understanding of these cells. Accordingly, this review provides a basic overview of the different strategies used to generate iPS cells and focuses on recent developments in the field of iPS cells. In the final section, we discuss three broad, unanswered questions related to somatic cell reprogramming, which are just starting to be addressed.

Keywords: DNA methylation; Nanog; Oct4; Sox2; X chromosome inactivation; cell cycle; chromatin remodeling; epigenetic; iPS cells; induced pluripotent stem cells; mi-RNA; reprogramming.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Reprogramming of somatic cell to iPS cells. Examples of reprogramming factors are provided, along with characteristics of a typical starting somatic cell and those of an iPS cell.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Model of reprogramming inhibition mediated by p53 and miR-145. p53 drives the processing of immature miR-145 to mature, functional miR-145. miR-145 is known to impede the expression of endogenous reprogramming factors Sox, Oct4 and Klf4. Inefficient production of endogenous reprogramming factors interferes with the formation of iPS cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sequence of progression of molecular and cellular events that occur during the reprogramming of somatic cells to iPS cells. The sequence of events shown, especially those that take place during the latter stages of reprogramming, have not been firmly established.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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