Student Society for Stem Cell Research February 27, 2008 Virginia Commonwealth University

Reprogramming Skin Cells Human skin cells have been reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells (induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS). Kazutoshi Takahashi and Shinya Yamanaka (Kyoto University, Japan) published in Cell. Junying Yu and colleagures (University of Wisconsin-Madison) published in Science.

Reprogramming Skin Cells What: pluripotent stem cells generated from mature human fibroblasts How: Uses viruses to insert several copies of three or more pluripotency genes into cells. Result: An adult cell behaving like an embryonic stem cell. “The induced cells do all the things embryonic stem cells do - its going to completely change the field.” Professor James Thomson, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Kyoto Team The cells were similar to embryonic stem cells! Brain and Heart tissue Heart muscle tissue started beating.

Benefits of Reprogramming Reduces the risk of tissue rejection. No embryo is needed. No more controversy!

Problems with Reprogramming Viral contamination Cancer Not Efficient / Questionable Validity

Possible Answers Yamanaka, S., et all. (2008). Generation of Pluripotent Stem Cells from Adult Mouse Liver and Stomach Cells. Science. Genetic Marking System Cancer? Less viral contamination No Transgenes: “This is encouraging to those of us who are seeking a nonviral means of generating iPS cells,” said George Daley of Children’s Hospital Boston

Future of Stem Cell Research New treatments for diseases Perfecting the Technique Still needs to be embryonic stem cell research!

Sources / Resources tmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/ s tm ?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.P Entrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pub med_RVDocSumhttp:// 6851?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.P Entrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pub med_RVDocSum 8/02/adult_cell_types_besides_skin.htmlhttp://blogs.nature.com/reports/theniche/200 8/02/adult_cell_types_besides_skin.html