Induced pluripotent stem cells without viruses
Two research groups simultaneously published in Nature papers on the "non-viral" method of creating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), which do not differ in function from embryonic stem cells (Nature advance online publication 1 March 2009: Keisuke Kaji et al., Virus-free induction of pluripotency and consequent excision of reprogramming factors; Knut Woltjen et al., piggyBac transposition reprograms fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells.)
To do this, the scientists used the piggyBac DNA sequence, which moves easily in the cell. Previously, it was necessary to leave the genes necessary for the induction of factors in the DNA of the cell, and some of them are potentially associated with tumors. Therefore, the current work opens up new prospects in terms of the clinical application of induced pluripotency.
Keisuke Kaji from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and his colleagues used the piggyBac transposon to insert into the genome of mouse fibroblasts four factors necessary for the transformation of an ordinary cell into a pluripotent one. After that, they "cut out" uninformative sections of the vector from the genome and connected the "free ends".
Andras Nagy of the Mount Sinai Clinic in Toronto and his co-authors went further, applying the same technique to human cells. In addition, they learned to cut out pluripotency factors one at a time, which may be useful in future research.
Since induced pluripotent stem cells are able to transform into any cells of an adult organism without restrictions, they have great potential both in the treatment of serious diseases and injuries, and in the development and testing of the effectiveness and toxicity of drugs.
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