Cell reprogramming is the process of changing the identity of a specialized cell to a different type of cell. It involves resetting the cell back to an earlier stage so that it can become a different cell with new functions.
Full definition
The sequential processes of
somatic cell reprogramming to create patient - specific hiPS cells, CRISPR / Cas9 gene editing, and single - cell cloning uniquely enable researchers to study how a specific genetic modification can influence function.
In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, who first created induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and his colleagues at the Gladstone Institutes found a way to increase the efficiency of
stem cell reprogramming through research on a rare genetic disease.
The researchers from Australia and the Netherlands grew their «kidney - like structure» from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells —
adult cells reprogrammed into a neutral state from which they can be coaxed to develop into other cell types.
The discovery, published online in the journal Nature, decreases the time needed
for cell reprogramming from a couple of weeks to a few days and reveals new information on the reprogramming process for iPS cells and their potential medical applications.
In the new study, the researchers extensively characterized this repackaging process, detailing how skin
cells reprogrammed into generic neurons then can be guided into specific types of neurons.
Work with
skin cells reprogrammed to mimic embryos had suggested the mutation would be repaired in fewer than 30 percent of cells.
In 2005, before a Congressional hearing in the U.S., Prof. George Q. Daley of Harvard spoke forcefully and influentially about the necessity for embryonic stem - cell research to go ahead, and dismissed suggestions that one could work instead with «induced pluripotent stem cells» («iPS», i.e. stem
cells reprogrammed from some cells of a living adult).
Reducing the expression of p21 and its upstream regulator p53 (a tumor suppressor) was recently found to enhance the production of induced pluripotent stem cells — a previously
mature cell reprogrammed to act like a stem cell.
Reduced expression of Paternally Expressed Gene - 3 enhances somatic
cell reprogramming through mitochondrial activity perturbation, Scientific Reports.
Thanks to a promising technique known
as cell reprogramming, this science fiction scenario may soon become reality.
While this particular line of iPS - RPE cells could not be used as a direct therapeutic due to viral insertions of pluripotency genes, the recent advances in iPS
cell reprogramming technology, including the use of small molecules [71]--[73], piggyBac transposition [74], [75], non-integrating episomal vectors [76] and manipulation of endogenous transcription factors [77] should eliminate the risks associated with integration of stem cell genes into the genome.
Aulicino F, Theka I, Ombrato L, * Lluis F, * Cosma MP (2014) Temporal perturbation of the Wnt signalling pathway
controls cell reprogramming via Tcf1 activity.
Neurons created from neural stem cells derived using a new
direct cell reprogramming methodMINGLIANG ZHANG, PHD, GLADSTONE INSTITUTES (VIA EUREKALERT) Researchers have developed a method to directly reprogram cells using a combination of nine chemical compounds.
«Stem
cell reprogramming factor controls change in cellular energy generation: Research reveals role for KLF4 protein in instructing cells to undergo metabolic changes while acquiring stem cell characteristics.»
This research builds on the ground - breaking
cell reprogramming work of their Gladstone colleague, Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD.
The main emphasis is to study how
cancer cells reprogram their metabolism and protein homeostasis to survive nutrient stress conditions associated to tumor progression and how they might use processes such as autophagy and macropinocytosis to prevent various forms of cell death, including apoptosis and necrosis, and to keep growing.
He has more than fifteen years» experience in the life science industry, including the product development, market development and commercialization of cells, scaffolds,
cell reprogramming tools and cell culture media for regenerative medicine and bioprocessing applications.
Nanog and Sox2 are among the enzymes used by researchers to generate iPSCs, therefore ZFP217 may represent another tool needed to achieve tight control
over cell reprogramming.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-- adult
cells reprogrammed back to an embryonic stem cell - like state — may better model the genetic contributions to each patient's particular disease.
Patients could benefit from having their
own cells reprogrammed into ones that could help treat disease, potentially eliminating the prospect of immune rejection.
The Lasker Foundation honored John Gurdon (top right) and Shinya Yamanaka (bottom right) for work
on cell reprogramming and Brian Druker (top left), Nicholas Lydon (bottom left), and Charles
When researchers added a second step of
T cell reprogramming for patients with residual disease, clinical benefit was seen in about 75 % of patients, said Dr. Kandalaft.
Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi (Gladstone Institutes) have discovered that MYC enables cells to be reprogrammed 10 % more efficiently by overcoming a block that
stops cells reprogramming.
Announcement 2 All «
cell reprogramming crowd» gathered for 3 days in Berkley, California for Cell Symposia «10 Years of iPS ``.
Review of «Transcription factors orchestrate dynamic interplay between genome topology and gene regulation
during cell reprogramming» from Nature Genetics by Stuart P. Atkinson
By matching normal and cancer cells from a patient, we can now study the differences — what molecules are key to tumor development and growth, and, ultimately, match treatments that might disable this cancer,» says the study's senior investigator, associate professor of pathology, Xuefeng Liu, MD, a member of the Center
for Cell Reprogramming (CCR) at Georgetown University Medical Center.
Cells reprogrammed in living mice (green) can contribute to both the placenta and body tissues of a developing mouse.
Together with Kathrin Plath from UCLA, Vincent Pasque from KU Leuven led an international study into how
adult cells reprogram to iPS cells.
But now, a team of researchers at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon, has used a unique cloning and
cell reprogramming technique to create a fresh piece of tissue or stem cells that perfectly match and is compatible with the skin of the affected patient.
«Our study is the first to report a method for generating Leydig cells by means of
direct cell reprogramming,» says senior study co-author Yadong Huang of Jinan University.