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Cell biology

iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells)

DEiPSC (induzierte pluripotente Stammzellen)

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are adult body cells reprogrammed back into a flexible, pluripotent state. Researchers do it with factors called OSKM (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc). From there, iPSCs can become any cell type in your body. They sidestep the ethical concerns of embryonic stem cells. And they enable patient-specific disease models, drug screening, and your-own-cell (autologous) therapies. In aging research, reprogramming resets many epigenetic age markers. But that reset is often incomplete, and iPSCs can keep some of the donor cell's epigenetic memory. Even so, they give a powerful platform to study, and to reverse, cellular aging.

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Sources

  1. Takahashi K, Yamanaka S. (2006). Induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic and adult fibroblast cultures by defined factors. *Cell*doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.07.024
  2. Takahashi K, Tanabe K, Ohnuki M, et al.. (2007). Induction of pluripotent stem cells from adult human fibroblasts by defined factors. *Cell*doi:10.1016/j.cell.2007.11.019