Two studies published today report that human somatic cells can be reprogrammed into a pluripotent state that resembles human embryonic stem cells. As reported in linkurl:Cell;http://images.cell.com/images/Edimages/Cell/IEPs/3661.pdf , Shinya Yamanaka's group from Kyoto University linkurl:reprogrammed;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/24307/ adult human skin cells with four transcription factors to make them display human embryonic stem cell pluripotency. linkurl:Last year;http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16904174&dopt=AbstractPlus this team of researchers showed that induced pluripotent stem cells can be generated from mouse embryonic and adult fibroblasts by the retrovirus-mediated transfection of four transcription factors: OCT3/4, SOX2, c-Myc, and Klf4. Using the same factors in humans, the cells could be subsequently differentiated into human cardiac cells and neural cells. The paper embargo was lifted early today because of an embargo break. In the second paper, appearing in linkurl:Science;http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/1120/1 , James Thomson's group at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, used a lentivirus and the four linkurl:transcription factors;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/53404/ OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, and LIN28 to reprogram human skin...
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