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Stem cells

The magic brew

Nature volume 448, pages 260–262 (2007)Cite this article

Researchers have engineered embryonic stem-like cells from normal mouse skin cells. If this method can be translated to humans, patient-specific stem cells could be made without the use of donated eggs or embryos.

Two reports in this issue1,2 and one elsewhere3 describe a seemingly simple method for changing differentiated adult cells into pluripotent stem cells. The 'gold-standard' test for pluripotency is the ability of a cell to contribute extensively to all adult cell types, including the germ line. The cells generated by these authors pass this test. The researchers introduced four gene-transcription factors into fibroblast cells originating from mouse skin, and specifically selected those cells that, in response to these factors, expressed genes indicative of a pluripotent state. Not only did all three teams manage to isolate cell lines that resembled mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, but when they injected these cells into early embryos, the cells differentiated into all normal adult cell types.

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Figure 1: Generating induced pluripotent stem cells.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. and the Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology, Janet Rossant is in the Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, University of Toronto, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada. janet.rossant@sickkids.ca,

    Janet Rossant

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  1. Janet Rossant
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Rossant, J. The magic brew. Nature 448, 260–262 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/448260a

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