Reprogramming adult cells

New methods to reprogram adult cells could create novel models of disease.

Scientists at George Daley’s lab at Children’s Hospital Boston are using new methods to reprogram adult cells to develop stem-cell lines from patients. These cells can then be used as models to study disease. Daley, who is affiliated with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, is shown here (right) with postdoctoral student In-Hyun Park.
Credit: Jon Chase/Harvard News Office

Last November, two groups of scientists announced that they had independently achieved one of the stem-cell field's biggest goals: the ability to reprogram adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells without the need for human embryos. (See "Stem Cells without the Embryos.") The findings garnered extensive media attention, largely because the new method obviated the need for human embryos, a major ethical minefield that has stymied research.

But scientists at stem-cell labs around the world are excited for another reason. The technique creates cells that are genetically matched to an individual, meaning that it's now possible to create novel cell models that capture all the genetic quirks of complex diseases. "Being able to have human cells with human disease in a dish accessible for testing is a real boon to technology and to science," says Evan Snyder, director of the Stem Cells and Regeneration Program at the Burnham Institute, in La Jolla, CA.