Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Progress and Future Perspectives in the Stem Cell World

نویسنده:
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سال
: 2012
چکیده: Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have the potential to differentiate into many cell types and therefore can be a

valuable source for cell therapy. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs), which are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM)

of the blastocyst, are representative of PSCs. However, use of these cells has some limitations, especially ethical

restrictions and immune response. As a result, researchers have been looking for other cell sources or strategies

to overcome these limitations. One kind of cellular reprogramming is the process of guiding mature cells into a

state of gene expression similar to PSCs. It has been demonstrated that somatic cells can be reprogrammed by

various methods, including somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and cell fusion with ESCs or treatment with

their extracts. This implies that some factors in oocytes and ESCs are able to initiate the reprogramming process.

Accordingly, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been derived from somatic cells by ectopic expression

of some transcription factors. This discovery has resulted in raising several important questions about the

mechanisms by which these factors influence the reprogramming and epigenetic status of the cells. iPSCs hold

great promise for regenerative medicine, developmental biology, and drug discovery because they circumvent

problems associated with both ethical issues and immunological rejection. Here we review the experiments

involved in the discovery of iPSCs, important factors in their reprogramming, and their future perspectives in

cell therapy.
کلیدواژه(گان): reprogramming,induced pluripotent stem cells
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