
For the first time, specialised cells have been reprogrammed into the equivalent of embryonic stem cells without using genes that might trigger cancer. The new method, which places the proteins encoded by the reprogramming genes directly into the target cells, should be safer.
Cellular reprogramming was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan. In 2006, he used retroviruses to insert four genes into the chromosomes of mouse skin cells. The result was "induced pluripotent" stem cells, or iPS cells, which could become any of the body's tissues.
When Yamanaka repeated the trick the following year with human cells, it seemed that the goal of treating diseases like Parkinson's using cells grown from a patient's own skin cells might at last be within reach. But it was too risky to take cells grown from his iPS cells and transplant them into people.
Using the proteins directly, instead of inserting the genes to create them, is a good idea. I'm impressed with this approach, hopefully it will lead to real-world applications. If nothing else, it should certainly increase understanding of stem cells.
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