Drug screening using iPS cells is also conceivable. Furthermore, iPS cells from patients with intractable disease could provide a valuable system for analyzing the mechanism of disease onset in vitro. Thus, iPS cells, which can be generated from somatic cells, are expected to resolve the problems that pertain to ES cells. Although several studies have evaluated the potential use of human embryonic stem (ES) cells in cell-based therapy, ethical concerns relating to the use of cells obtained from embryos limit their practical application. These cells, named iPS cells, have attracted much attention as a new stem cell type with potential for medical research and clinical applications. In 2006, artificially-induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells were reportedly generated from mouse fibroblasts by introducing exogenous Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (the so-called Yamanaka factors). In this review, we discuss the two theories and their implications in iPS cell research. To enhance our understanding of iPS cells, it is necessary to clarify the properties of the original cell source, i.e., the components of the original populations and the potential of each population to become iPS cells. Some reports have provided theoretical support for the stochastic model, but a recent publication demonstrated findings that support the elite model, and thus the mechanism of iPS cell generation remains under debate. Two mechanistic theories have been proposed the stochastic model purports that every cell type has the potential to be reprogrammed to become an iPS cell and the elite model proposes that iPS cell generation occurs only from a subset of cells. The mechanism of generation, however, is not fully understood. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have attracted a great deal attention as a new pluripotent stem cell type that can be generated from somatic cells, such as fibroblasts, by introducing the transcription factors Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |