Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 23, 2026
07:08
Author Spotlight: Reprogramming Cancer Cells to iPSCs to Study Disease Progression and Treatment Targets
Published on: February 2, 2024
1.6K
Cellular reprogramming beyond pluripotency
Víctor Núñez-Quintela1, Han Li2, Manuel Collado3
1Laboratory of Cell Senescence, Cancer and Aging, Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), University of Santiago de Compostela, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Trends in Molecular Medicine
|March 21, 2026
Summary
Aging is a modifiable process. Partial reprogramming reverses aging hallmarks, rejuvenating tissues and extending lifespan without cancer risks, offering hope for age-related diseases.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Cellular Biology
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Aging was traditionally considered irreversible.
- Recent research reframes aging as a modifiable biological process.
- Cellular reprogramming offers novel avenues for age reversal.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review genetic and chemical strategies for partial reprogramming.
- To discuss the in vivo effects of partial reprogramming on tissues.
- To evaluate the potential of partial reprogramming for regenerative medicine and age-related diseases.
Main Methods:
- Summarizing existing literature on partial reprogramming strategies.
- Analyzing studies on tissue-specific effects of partial reprogramming in vivo.
- Evaluating clinical translation challenges for reprogramming therapies.
Main Results:
- Transient expression of reprogramming factors reverses molecular aging hallmarks.
- Partial reprogramming rejuvenates tissues and restores regenerative capacity.
- Partial reprogramming extends lifespan in some models without tumorigenesis.
Conclusions:
- Partial reprogramming is a promising strategy for combating age-related decline.
- Further research is needed to address safety, delivery, and control for clinical application.
- This approach holds significant implications for treating age-related diseases and promoting healthy aging.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming
2.8K
Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012...
2.8K
01:24Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming
2.2K
Nuclear reprogramming is a process of transforming one cell type into an unrelated cell type by epigenetic changes that alter the cell’s original gene expression pattern. Such epigenetic changes force cells to express a different set of genes, which play a significant role in inducing transformation into other cell types. Nuclear reprogramming offers applications in reproductive cloning for livestock propagation and regenerative medicine — developing patient-specific cells for...
2.2K
01:14Introduction to Nuclear Reprogramming
2.4K
Nuclear reprogramming is the process of switching gene expression of one cell type to that of another cell type, usually from a differentiated cell state to an undifferentiated cell state. Differentiation occurs during processes such as development and morphogenesis, tissue regeneration, and malignancy. Cells can also be artificially induced to reprogram their gene expression by techniques such as nuclear transfer, induced pluripotency, and cell fusion. Such techniques have many applications in...
2.4K
01:32Chromatin Modification in iPS Cells
2.3K
Chromatin modification alters gene expression; therefore, scientists can add histone-modifying enzymes, histone variants, and chromatin remodeling complexes to somatic cells to aid reprogramming into pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
Compact chromatin makes reprogramming difficult. Enzymes, such as histone demethylases and acetyltransferases, are often added during reprogramming to loosen the chromatin, making the DNA more accessible to transcription factors. Molecules that inhibit histone...
Compact chromatin makes reprogramming difficult. Enzymes, such as histone demethylases and acetyltransferases, are often added during reprogramming to loosen the chromatin, making the DNA more accessible to transcription factors. Molecules that inhibit histone...
2.3K
01:14Maintenance of the ES Cell State
2.8K
The cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass only remain pluripotent for a short time. This state of pluripotency and self-renewal can be maintained in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture by adding specific chemicals or growth factors to ensure the cells can continue dividing and later differentiate into different cell types. In some cases, the cells are grown on a feeder layer of differentiated cells, which provides the growth factors and extracellular matrix components necessary for stem cell...
2.8K
01:13Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
28.5K
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different types of cells. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are post-mitotic—that is, they no longer divide. However, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they “de-differentiate” and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are also pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are therefore...
28.5K