The reprogramming of adult cells to produce induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells shows promise for tissue repair. c-MYC is one of the proteins used to reprogram cells, but at high levels it also hinders the transformation of iPS cells into platelets, a blood cell important in clotting and wound healing.

Some iPS cells do turn into platelets, however, and Koji Eto at the University of Tokyo, and his colleagues have now found out how. The team created numerous human iPS cell lines by delivering a cocktail of proteins, including c-MYC, to skin cells, and then differentiated these into platelets. The iPS cells that became platelets most efficiently were those that rapidly muffled the expression of c-MYC. In mice, these platelets homed in on damaged blood vessels just like natural platelets.

J. Exp. Med. doi:10.1084/jem.20100844 (2010)