Abstract

The cloning of mammals from differentiated donor cells has refuted the old dogma that development is an irreversible process. It has demonstrated that the oocyte can reprogramme an adult nucleus into an embryonic state that can direct development of a new organism. The prospect of deriving patient-specific embryonic stem cells by nuclear transfer underscores the potential use of this technology in regenerative medicine. The future challenge will be to study alternatives to nuclear transfer in order to recapitulate reprogramming in a Petri dish without the use of oocytes.

1. Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
2. Present address. Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Stem Cell Institute, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.

Correspondence to: Rudolf Jaenisch¹ Email: jaenisch@wi.mit.edu

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