Pre-commercialisation validation of Stem Cell Generator as a highly efficient single transfection iPSC reprogramming vector

多能干细胞是再生医学的基石；再生医学是一种潜在的无限供应的细胞，可以分化为人体内几乎任何类型的细胞，用于细胞治疗和移植。人类胚胎干细胞已经被用于治疗眼病和脊髓损伤的临床试验，但免疫抑制和伦理争议的必要性限制了它们的广泛应用。诱导多能干细胞(IPS)技术的出现意味着患者自己的皮肤细胞可以通过表达四个关键基因从基因上重新编程为多能性。这项技术目前被排除在临床使用之外，因为四种基因中的两种已被证明会致癌。我们已经开发出一种新的方法来产生iPS细胞，它不使用这两种致癌基因。我们已经证明，这种方法在制造iPS细胞方面也更有效，我们希望它将加快临床应用的速度。

Pluripotent stem cells are the cornerstone of Regenerative Medicine; a potentially limitless supply of cells that can be differentiated into virtually any cell type in the human body for use in cell therapy and transplantation. Human Embryonic Stem (ES) cells are already being used in clinical trials to treat eye disease and spinal cord injury but the necessity for immune suppression and ethical contention limit their widespread application. The emergence of induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cell technology means that a patients own skin cells can be genetically reprogrammed to pluripotency by the expression of just four key genes. This technology is currently precluded from clinical use because two of the four genes have been shown to cause cancer. We have developed a new way of generating iPS cells that does not use the two cancer causing genes. We have shown that this method is also more efficient at making iPS cells and we hope that it will expedite a route to clinical application.