Seminars and Events

Past Events

Category Seminar
Date and Time 2006-11-20 17:00 - 18:00
Venue Auditorium C1F
Speaker Shinya Yamanaka
Affiliation Institute for Frontier Medical Research, Kyoto University
Title Identification of factors that generate pluripotent stem cells from fibroblast culture
Poster click here to download(PDF)
Host Hitoshi Niwa
Summary Differentiated cells can be reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state by transfer of their nuclear contents into oocytes or by fusion with embryonic stem (ES) cells. Little is known about the factors that induce this reprogramming. Here we show that the combination of four factors can generate pluripotent cells directly from mouse embryonic or adult fibroblast cultures. These cells, which we designated RS (reprogrammed stem) cells, exhibit the morphology and growth properties of ES cells and express ES cell marker genes, including Oct3/4 and Nanog. Subcutaneous transplantation of RS cells into nude mice resulted in tumors containing a variety of tissues from all three germ layers. Following injection into blastocysts, RS cells were able to contribute to mouse embryonic development. These data demonstrate that pluripotent cells can be directly generated from fibroblast cultures by the addition of only a few defined factors.
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