The promise of human induced pluripotent stem cells for research and therapy

Somatic cells can be converted to an embryonic-like state by introducing a defined set of factors. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells raise new hopes for regenerative medicine. What are the hurdles that need to be overcome to take advantage of this technique? Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are human somatic cells that have been reprogrammed to a pluripotent state. There are several hurdles to be overcome before iPS cells can be considered as a potential patient-specific cell therapy, and it will be crucial to characterize the developmental potential of human iPS cell lines. As a research tool, iPS-cell technology provides opportunities to study normal development and to understand reprogramming. iPS cells can have an immediate impact as models for human diseases, including cancer.