•Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) technology refers to the reprogramming of terminally differentiated somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells by introducing specific transcription factors.
The process by which differentiated cells are reversed under certain conditions and return to a totipotent state, either to form embryonic stem cell lines, or to further develop into new individuals, is cell reprogramming.
Unlike the classic embryonic stem cell technique and somatic nuclear transfer technique, the iPSCs technique does not use embryonic cells or egg cells, so there are no ethical issues. In addition, iPSCs technology can be used to prepare proprietary stem cells from the patient’s own somatic cells, greatly reducing the possibility of immune rejection.
The emergence of iPSCs has aroused strong repercussions in stem cells, epigenetics and biomedical fields, enabling people to have a brand new understanding of the regulatory mechanism of pluripotency, and further narrowing the distance between stem cells and clinical disease treatment. iPSCs have great potential value in cell replacement therapy, pathogenesis research, new drug screening, and treatment of neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases and other clinical diseases.