Who’s who in the iPS cell field? In this post, I examine the people, journals, places, funding agencies, and companies that are the leaders in the iPS cell field. I start with publishing. Last year we did a post on publishing trends in the iPS cell field. It suggested that the iPS cell field was exploding […]
Who’s who in iPS cells: scientists, journals, funding agencies, countries, and biotechs Read More »
What are iPS cells? We talk about iPS cells all the time. We are very excited about them. Heck, the web address for this blog is ipscell.com. But what are iPS cells, really? A simple definition of iPS cells is the following: Embryonic stem cell-like cells that are made from non-stem cells in a lab.
An insider’s guide: what are iPS cells? Read More »
A group of researchers led by Evan Snyder (paper discussed here) published a paper in PNAS on a new type of neural stem-like cell whose pluripotency can be turned ON or OFF by turning the v-myc gene ON or OFF using a conditional system of expression, called a “Tet-ON” system. In this system, tetracycline or its
“Alternative” to IPS cells, ICSP, are very cool, but for now a no-go for the FDA Read More »
Just how tumorigenic are iPS cells? The field really doesn’t know at this point. However, a steady stream of papers have raised red flag after red flag about genomic and epigenomic alterations/mutations that are linked to cancer. Of course, then there is the fact that all the genetic changes actually used to make reprogrammed cells
Secret Not so Secret Recipe for Safer iPS cells Read More »
A growing body of evidence has convincingly argued that iPS cells contain numerous abnormalities at the genetic and epigenetic levels. Often these changes have links to the machinery in cells that is responsible for cancer. As a result, many in the stem cell field have raised the notion that iPS cells may never be able
New papers support growing serious safety concerns about iPS cells Read More »
It’s been more than 4 years since Shinya Yamanaka published the remarkable finding that his lab could transform or “reprogram” regular cells called fibroblasts into a very unique state that was quite similar to that of embryonic stem cells (ESC). Yamanaka called these new cells “iPS cells” for induced pluripotent stem cells. Since that time,
The Inside Scoop on iPS cells early in 2011 Read More »
A new paper is out from a team at The Salk lead by Joseph Ecker that the methylomes of many different human iPS cells. Their conclusion is that while iPS cells and ES cells are generally very similar in terms of the global portions of the genomes that are methylated, iPS cells exhibited hundreds of
iPS cells are not going to replace ES cells Read More »
Yesterday I wrote about how difficult it is to tell different cell lines apart, including normal stem cells and cancer stem cells, especially since some accumulate accumulate oncogenic mutations that may make them seem more similar. A new paper is coming out that makes this case on a genomic level. Tomorrow’s Cell Stem Cell edition
Devil in the details: small oncogenic lesions in iPS cells & ESC Read More »
My lab studies iPS cells. We are excited about iPS cells and they have enormous potential. However, there are some realities about iPS cells related to safety that impede our ability to use them to treat patients any time soon. We must solve these roadblocks before we can move forward, but interestingly, these facts are
Some Inconvenient Truths About iPS cells Read More »
If IPS cells are not ready for prime time, it is probably due to these three critical challenges for these amazing cells. TUMORIGENICITY Those of us who work with IPS cells are very excited about their potential for use in regenerative medicine therapies. One serious hurdle we have talked about in the past is tumorigenicity.
Not ready for prime time: the three critical challenges for IPS cells Read More »