Human dermal fibroblasts stained for cytochrome C (green), actin (red), and DNA (blue).FLICKR, GE HEALTHCARE
The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) in 2006 opened the door to promising research and therapeutic techniques, such as the generation of disease models and the potential to replace cells damaged by neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. Derived from fetal or adult cells, iPSC strategies avoided the ethical issues surrounding embryonic stem cells. But they retained one critical drawback—the propensity for tumor formation. In the last 18 months, however, researchers have discovered a new reprogramming technique that could avoid that problem altogether: the direct conversion of one differentiated cell type to another.
“Skipping pluripotency provides you the opportunity to avoid any possible tumorigenic source of cells,” says molecular biologist Vania Broccoli of the Stem Cells and Neurogenesis Unit at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute ...
