Chemically Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (CiPSCTM) .

Ongoing studies in our laboratories, initiated in 2007, have developed a robust iPS methodology using a cocktail of small molecule inducers, termed “Chemically induced Pluripotent Stem Cells” (CiPSC, patent pending) eliminating the need for any exogenous gene transduction. The CiPSC cocktail of chemical compounds was identified using cell based high throughput screens of biomaterial microarrays (www.dnamicroarray.com/r&d_projects_cma.html). CiPSC have been generated from Human Dermal Fibroblasts (HDF). We are currently working on derivation of CiPSC from other human cell types. The CiPSC methodology has multiple practical advantages:

1) CiPSC does not interfere with the natural genome of the resulting cells as drugs are washed off after induction.

2) CiPSC derivation is practical and cost effective.

3) CiPSC lines are safe and most translatable into clinical settings.

4) CiPSC Generates fully reprogrammed cells with high level of efficiency. Analysis of expression of pluripotency markers, methylation at the OCT4 and NANOG promoters, and differentiation into teratomas (Ectoderm, Mesoderm, and Endoderm), has shown that CiPSCs are true iPSCs (fully reprogrammed), as opposed to reprogramming intermediates using the criteria of Chan et al.

5) CiPSCs are stable, have normal karyotype, and maintain their iPS characteristics in more than 20 passages post derivation.

CiPSC procedure is a breakthrough technology for developing reliable and host-compatible pluripotent cells that offer practical “paradigm shifting” opportunities for studying human disease models in a dish, creating a personalized renewable source of cells for patient-specific cell therapies and enabling various regenerative medicine applications without immune rejection.

For updates on progress please refer to our R&D Projects page. For collaborations email us at TAP@dnamicroarray.com.

Click here for “5 Things to Know Before Jumping on the iPS Bandwagon” (Cyranoski D., 2008, Nature, 452:406-408).

References

1. Takahashi, K. et. al, (2007), Cell 131:1-12.
2. Junying Yu et al. (2007) Science 318: 1917-1920.
3. Meissner, A et al. (2007) Nature Biotechnology 25 (10): 1177-1181.
4. Chan E.M., et al. (2009) Nature Biotechnology 27:1033-1037.