title: Historical origins of transdifferentiation and reprogramming.
abstract: Transcription factor-induced reprogramming of specialized cells into other cell types and to pluripotency has revolutionized our thinking about cell plasticity, differentiation, and stem cells. The recent advances in this area were enabled by the confluence of a number of experimental breakthroughs that took place over the past 60 years. In this article, I give a historical and personal perspective of the events that set the stage for our current understanding of cellular reprogramming.
authors.affiliation: ICREA Professor, Center for Genomic Regulation and Pompeu Fabra University, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. thomas.graf@crg.es
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Graf
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D054338:Cell Transdifferentiation; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy / Q000379:methods; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D006801:Humans; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*