CiPS cells- stem cells created using chemical alone

Hongkui Deng, a stem-cell researcher at Peking University in Beijing has reported being successful in generating stem cells without the addition of extra genes, which previously had not been possible. 

The idea of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) has always been appealing. Induced pluripotent stem cells would have a large clinical potential, especially by allowing the growth of replacement cells and tissues for a patient, without the fear of rejection. After all, cells generated in this way should be very similar, if not, identical to the patients own cells. For example, a patient could have specific stem cells generated from their skin cells. It could be turned into brain cells that can be transplanted into their body, possibly curing brain ailments.

So what exactly is a pluripotent stem cell?

Pluripotent stem cells are cells capable of giving rise to all the tissue types in the body. The stem cells in embryos are pluripotent. Some of its medical applications are obvious. It allows scientists to make brain, liver, heart, muscle and other tissues that is specific to an individual or organism.

Two researchers from Kyoto University have previously discovered that four genes could reprogram adult mouse cells in 2006¹. Adding the genes into the cell (using viral vectors- molecular biology tools developed from viruses) could reprogram the cell into a pluripotent stem cell. Pluripotent stem cells made in this way are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells).

So what's so new about this discovery?

Like previously said before, the generation of pluripotent stem cells has been shown to be possible even since 2006. However, introducing extra genes into cells could increase the chance of undesired mutations and, of course, cancer. The new aspect of the discovery is that pluripotent stem cells can now be generated without risk of mutations and cancer. This can open up the path to therapies that do not risk generating dangerous mutations.   

From the original article²

Pluripotent stem cells can be induced from somatic cells, providing an unlimited cell resource, with potential for studying disease and use in regenerative medicine... This chemical reprogramming strategy has potential use in generating functional desirable cell types for clinical applications. (Abridged abstract of article)

CiPS... sounds promising. It sure does. Keep in tune to see how this will revolutionize medicine and research. 

References

1. Takahashi, K. & Yamanaka, S. Cell 126, 663-676 (2006).

2. "Pluripotent Stem Cells Induced from Mouse Somatic Cells by Small-Molecule Compounds"; Pingping Hou, Yanqin Li, Xu Zhang, Chun Liu, Jingyang Guan, Honggang Li, Ting Zhao, Junqing Ye, Weifeng Yang, Kang Liu, Jian Ge, Jun Xu, Qiang Zhang, Yang Zhao, and Hongkui Deng; Science 1239278, published online 18 July 2013; DOI:10.1126/science.1239278; Link to Abstract