Molecular mechanism involved in the maintenance of pluripotent stem cells

Abstract

The idea of growing human cells in vitro to yield a renewable source of cells for transplantation has captured the imagination of scientists for many years. The derivation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) represented a major milestone in achieving this goal. hESC are pluripotent and can proliferate in vitro indefinitely, rendering them an ideal source for cell replacement therapy. Moreover, recent advances in reprogramming somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) have enabled us to unravel some of the key master regulators of stem cell pluripotency. By integrating recent findings of molecular mechanism involved in maintenance of these different pluripotent stem cell ..