Non-viral Induction of Transgene-free iPSCs from Somatic Fibroblasts of Multiple Mammalian Species [human]
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are capable of providing an unlimited source of cells from all three germ layers as well as germ cells. The derivation and usage of iPSCs from various animal models may facilitate stem-cell-based therapy, generation of gene-modified animals, and evolutionary studies assessing interspecies differences. However, there is a lack of species-wide methods for deriving iPSCs, in particular by means of non-viral and non-transgene-integrating (NTI) approaches. Here, we demonstrated the derivation of iPSCs from somatic fibroblasts of multiple mammalian species from three different taxonomic orders, including the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) in Primates, the dog (Canis lupus familiaris) in Carnivora, and the pig (Sus scrofa) in Cetartiodactyla, by combinatorial usage of chemical compounds and NTI episomal vectors. Interestingly, the somatic fibroblasts temporarily acquired a neural stem cell (NSC)-like state during the reprogramming procedure. Collectively, our method, robustly applicable to various species, holds a great potential for facilitating stem-cell-based research using various animals in Mammalia. Overall design: RNA seq of human fibroblasts, iNSLCs, and iPSCs