title: [Advances in induced pluripotent stem cell research for neurological diseases].
abstract: In 2006, Takahashi and Yamanaka reported a groundbreaking study showing mouse and human somatic cells that can be reprogrammed to the pluripotent state by expression of only a few transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc). This novel strategy can be used for transplantation therapies without immune rejection providing additional advantages regarding ethic issues of oocyte donation. For neurological diseases, disease-specific induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells may serve as an invaluable model for clarifying pathogenesis and for screening new drug therapies. In particular, differentiated neurons derived from patient iPS cells could infinitely provide an alternative cellular-biochemical material for research instead of biopsy and autopsy. This review summarizes the current studies applying iPS cells in the field of neurology and discusses their potential and limitations for therapy against neurological diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Keio University.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nihei
authors.forename: Takahito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshizaki
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051379:Mice; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells