Induced pluripotent stem cells in medicine and biology

Abstract

Differentiated cells can be reprogrammed to pluripotency and other cell fates by treatment with defined factors. The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has opened up unprecedented opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, in the clinic and in laboratories. In particular, the medical applications of human iPSCs in disease modeling and stem cell therapy have been progressing rapidly. The ability to induce cell fate conversion is attractive not only for these applications, but also for basic research fields, such as development, cancer, epigenetics and aging. © 2013. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.