Year 4 (NCE)

Adult specialized cells can be converted to pluripotent stem cells by activation of specific genes. This process, called induction of pluripotency, opens exciting novel opportunities in Regenerative Medicine. Our goal is to derive and compare new human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines, in particular to address the question of whether the type of the starting specialized cell affects the properties of the resulting human iPS cells. Beyond this fundamental biological question, our proposed research is also expected to lead to the generation of a significant number of new human iPS cells that will be made available to the scientific community, thus accelerating the pace of research in this field.
This no cost extension closes our grant. During this period we made further inroads into the derivation of human pluripotent stem cells, using different methodologies, so as to be in a position of comparing them with regards to somatic cell memory. Therefore, during the course of the grant we have successfully achieved the aims proposed, and gained additional insights into the mechanisms that underlie human cellular reprogramming to pluripotency.