Induced pluripotent stem cells: where are we today?

Abstract

For many years, scientists have been trying to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that convey pluripotency and self-renewal to stem cells. With this valuable knowledge, they hoped to discover relevant information in the development, growth and regeneration of cells, tissues, and organisms that allow organisms to live as long as they do. These characteristics were once thought to be present only in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and a few adult multipotent cells such as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Recent studies have tapped into the potential of our once thought to be terminally differentiated adult cells to produce self-renewable, pluripotentiating cells, now termed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This critical review will discuss the advantages and limitations of the methods developed to generate and characterize iPSCs. Advantages and challenges of the use of iPSCs in applications such as research and therapeutics will also be discussed.