Reprogramming stem cells in regenerative medicine

Smart Med., 2022 · DOI: 10.1002/SMMD.20220005 · Published: September 1, 2022

Simple Explanation

The regenerative medicine field is looking for stem cells that can turn into different cell types and be safely used for therapy. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be derived from adult somatic cells. iPSCs have the potential to treat diseases in the future, because of their unlimited ability to grow and change into different cell types, while avoiding the ethical problems of using embryonic stem cells (ESCs). This review explores different methods of reprogramming cells to obtain iPSCs, including biotechnological, chemical, and physical techniques, and discusses their strengths and limitations.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Not specified

Evidence Level

Review Article

Key Findings

1
iPSCs are now widely used to study various clinical diseases of hair follicle defects, myocardial infarction, neurological disorders, liver diseases, and spinal cord injuries.
2
Somatic cells can be reprogrammed to a pluripotent stem cell (CiPSC) state by chemical stimulation.
3
Cells are influenced by physical sensors like matrix stiffness, morphology, and coarseness, affecting stem cell self‐renewal, stemness and pluripotency, stem cell differentiation, and cell reprogramming.

Research Summary

This review provides an overview of recent research progress in iPSC induction methods and clinical applications. The review comprehensively introduces approaches involving biological, chemical, and physical methods that have been chosen for cell reprogramming. Somatic cells may be reprogrammed into iPSCs, which have potential applications in regenerative medicine, but the purity, maturity, homogeneity, and efficacy of iPSC are yet to be further evaluated.

Practical Implications

Cell Therapy Advances

Advancing iPSC research will help drive long‐awaited breakthroughs in cellular therapy.

Personalized Medicine

The technology based on iPSC allows surgical residues to be used as a source of PSC for personalized medicine.

Tissue Regeneration

iPSC has revolutionized the arena of wound repair and skin tissue engineering.

Study Limitations

1
Inefficient production of iPSCs.
2
Heterogeneity of iPSCs in pluripotency and self-renewal capacity.
3
Tumorigenicity risk associated with iPSC transplantation.

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