Induced pluripotent stem cells: advances to applications

duced pluripotent stem cells: advances to applications Review (10025) Total Article Views Authors: Timothy J Nelson, Almudena Martinez-Fernandez, Satsuki Yamada, et al Published Date December 2009 Volume 2010:3 Pages 29 - 37 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/SCCAA.S4954 Timothy J Nelson1, Almudena Martinez-Fernandez1, Satsuki Yamada1, Yasuhiro Ikeda2, Carmen Perez-Terzic1, Andre Terzic1 1Marriott Heart Disease Research Program, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA; 2Department of Molecular Medicine; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA Abstract: Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technology has enriched the armamentarium of regenerative medicine by introducing autologous pluripotent progenitor pools bioengineered from ordinary somatic tissue. Through nuclear reprogramming, patient-specific iPS cells have been derived and validated. Optimizing iPS-based methodology will ensure robust applications across discovery science, offering opportunities for the development of personalized diagnostics and targeted therapeutics. Here, we highlight the process of nuclear reprogramming of somatic tissues that, when forced to ectopically express stemness factors, are converted into bona fide pluripotent stem cells. Bioengineered stem cells acquire the genuine ability to generate replacement tissues for a wide-spectrum of diseased conditions, and have so far demonstrated therapeutic benefit upon transplantation in model systems of sickle cell anemia, Parkinson’s disease, hemophilia A, and ischemic heart disease. The field of regenerative medicine is therefore primed to adopt and incorporate iPS cell-based advancements as a next generation stem cell platforms.