Back to the future: how human induced pluripotent stem cells will transform regenerative medicine

Based on cloning studies in mammals, all adult human cells theoretically contain DNA that is capable of creating a whole new person. Cells are maintained in their differentiated state by selectively activating some genes and silencing. The dogma until recently was that cell differentiation was largely fixed unless exposed to the environment of an activated oocyte. However, it is now possible to activate primitive pluripotent genes within adult human cells that take them back in time to a pluripotent state (termed induced pluripotent stem cells). This technology has grown at an exponential rate over the past few years, culminating in the Nobel Prize in medicine. Discussed here are recent developments in the field as they relate to regenerative medicine, with an emphasis on creating functional cells, editing their genome, autologous transplantation and how this ground-breaking field may eventually impact human aging.