CHEMICAL REPROGRAMMING OF HUMAN SOMATIC CELLS INTO PLURIPOTENT CELLS

Compositions of culture conditions and the stepwise method for improving reprograming of human somatic cells into human chemically induced pluripotent cells are disclosed. The first stage, which uses a combination of small molecules with necessary biological activities, is aimed at downregulating the somatic gene program. The second stage uses a selection of small molecules with select biological activities to upregulate one or more pluripotency-related transcriptional factors. The third stage uses a selection of small molecule factors with select biological activities to establish an initial pluripotency network, measured by the expression of OCT4. The fourth and final stage uses a selection of small molecules with select biological activities to fully establish a pluripotent network, measured by co-expression factors such as OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG in the reprogrammed cells. The resultant reprogrammed cells are termed human chemically induced pluripotent stem cells, hCiPSCs.