MicroRNA expression profiling of human-induced pluripotent and embryonic stem cells

Clinical implications of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology are enormous for personalized medicine. However, extensive use of viral approach for ectopic expression of reprogramming factors is a major hurdle in realization of its true potential. Non-viral methods for making iPS cells, although plausible, are impractical because of high cost. MicroRNAs are important cellular modulators that have been shown to rival transcription factors and are important players in embryonic development. We have generated distinct "microRNA-omes" signature of iPS cells that remain in a near embryonic stem (ES) cell state and distinct from differentiated cells. Recent advances in the microRNA field and experimentally validated microRNAs warrant a review in experimental protocols for microRNA expression profile.