The first direct reprogramming of adult human fibroblasts.
In recent issues of Cell and Science, Yamanaka and colleagues (Takahashi et al., 2007) and Yu and colleagues (Yu et al., 2007) demonstrate that expression of four specific transcription factors gives adult human fibroblasts many of the characteristics of human embryonic stem cells. Refinements of this procedure will make it possible to produce pluripotent human cell lines without use of an embryo. There are profound scientific and social implications of this research.
Wilmut
Ian
I
Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK. ian.wilmut@ed.ac.uk
D000328:Adult; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming / Q000235:genetics; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology*; D005821:Genetic Techniques / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*