Back to the future: how human induced pluripotent stem cells will transform regenerative medicine

Basedoncloningstudies inmammals, all adult humancells theoretically containDNA that is capableof creating a whole new person. Cells are maintained in their differentiated state by selectively activating some genes and silencing. The dogmauntil recentlywas that cell differentiationwas largely fixed unless exposed to the environ-ment of an activated oocyte. However, it is now possible to activate primitive pluripotent genes within adult human cells that take themback in time to a pluripotent state (termed induced pluripotent stemcells). This tech-nology has grown at an exponential rate over the past few years, culminating in the Nobel Prize in medicine. Discussed here are recent developments in the field as they relate to regenerative medicine, with an emphasis on creating functional cells, editing their genome, autologous transplantation and how this ground-breaking field may eventually impact human aging