Directed reprogramming of somatic cells by defined factors provides a novel method for the generation of patient-specific stem cells with the potential to bypass both the practical and ethical concerns associated with somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and human embryonic stem (hES) cells. Although the generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has proven a robust technology in mouse ...

Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into 200 odd cell types present in adult body. Pluripotent stem cells available for regenerative medicine include embryonic stem (ES) cells, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and very small ES-like stem (VSELs) cells. Nuclear OCT-4 is one of the crucial factors that dictate pluripotent state. Compared to ES/iPS cells grown in Petri d...

background: the definitive endoderm (de) differentiation using the undefined media and non-human feeders can cause contaminations in the generated cells for therapeutic applications. therefore, generating safer and more appropriate de cells is needed. this study compared five different methods to establish an appropriate method for inducing an efficient de differentiation from human induced plu...

Human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived intestinal organoids have low invasiveness; however, the current differentiation method does not reflect crypt-villus-like structure due to structural immaturity. Here, we generated budding-like that formed epithelial tissue-like structures and had characteristics of mature small intestine from human iPS cells. They showed a high expression drug...

The recent generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from adult human somatic cells has intensified interest in cellular therapies for treating human disease. This issue’s Molecular Medicine Select highlights progress in overcoming barriers to the use of transplanted cells. These achievements include the treatment of sickle cell anemia in mice using genetically repaired iPS cells, the ...

The history of immunizing with embryonic materials to generate an antitumor immune response dates back to a century ago. The premise is that cancer cells share the expression of oncofetal antigens with embryonic materials and that the immune response against these antigens in the embryonic tissues is cross-protective against cancer. However, such a practice has never advanced beyond experimenta...

This report describes our initial attempt to regenerate salivary glands using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in vivo and in vitro. Glandular tissues that were similar to the adult submandibular glands (SMGs) and sublingual glands could be partially produced by the transplantation of iPS cells into mouse salivary glands. However, the tumorigenicity of iPS cells has not been resolved yet. I...

In vitro culture of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HPCs) is supported by a suitable cellular microenvironment, such as mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs)-but MSCs are heterogeneous and poorly defined. In this study, we analyzed whether MSCs derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS-MSCs) provide a suitable cellular feeder layer too. iPS-MSCs clearly supported proliferation of HPC...

Human pluripotent stem cells, including cloned embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells, offer a limitless cellular source for regenerative medicine. However, their derivation efficiency is limited, and a large proportion of cells are arrested during reprogramming. In the current study, we explored chromosome microdeletion/duplication in arrested and established reprogrammed cells. Our resu...

The concept of reprogramming of somatic cells has opened a new era in regenerative medicine. Transduction of defined factors has successfully achieved pluripotency. However, during the generation process of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, genetic manipulation of certain factors may cause tumorigenicity, which limits further application. We report that that a single transfer of embryonic s...