Looking into the future of cell-based therapy

Recent research points to the future of regenerative medicine. In the past year, a handful of research groups have demonstrated that mature, adult cells could be "reprogrammed" to a very primitive, embryonic state via the forced expression of four genes (Oct-3/4, c-Myc, Klf4, and Sox2). These induced pluripotent cells (or iPS) share features with embryonic stem (ES) cells and generate tissues from all three embryonic germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm). iPS cells are also capable of the ultimate demonstration of developmental potency, ie, when injected into an early mouse embryo, they contribute to the formation of an entire mouse including its germline. While the reprogramming of human fibroblasts into iPS cells remains to be seen, it is nevertheless difficult to overstate the value that this new research contributes to the field of regenerative medicine and its academic relative developmental biology. Herein, we attempt to bring these monumental works into greater focus and comment on how they work to shape the future of cellular therapies.