Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Renal Epithelial Cells

In the past decades, human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been generated by the ectopic expression of "Yamanaka factors" in multiple somatic cells. However, the procedure to get access to donor cells is hard or invasive in most cases. Hereon, we depict a stepwise method developed in our laboratory for the generation of iPSCs from renal epithelial cells present in urine, which is noninvasive, nonintegrating, and universal. The resulting urinary iPSCs (UiPSCs) exhibit pluripotent characteristics resemble embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and thus urine may be a favorable source for generating iPSCs.