© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 77
P.V. Pham (ed.), Stem Cell Processing, Stem Cells in Clinical Applications,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40073-0_4
Chapter 4
New Trends in Clinical Applications
of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Phuc Van Pham , Nhan Lu-Chinh Phan , Ngoc Bich Vu ,
Nhung Hai Truong , and Ngoc Kim Phan
4.1 History and Generation of iPSCs
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were established based on fundamental
reprogramming backgrounds. The fi rst signifi cant fi nding was reported by John
Gurdon in 1962 on the successful generation of tadpoles by transferring the nucleus
of intestinal cells into enucleated oocytes (Gurdon 1962 ). In 1987, several key tran-
scription factors were discovered, including Antennapedia, a Drosophila transcrip-
tion factor (Schneuwly et al. 1987 ), and MyoD, a mammalian transcription factor
(Davis et al. 1987 ). These studies led researchers to identify master cellular regula-
tors. Mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) generation was fi rst reported by Evans and
Martin in 1981 (Evans and Kaufman 1981 ; Martin 1981 ), followed by the eventual
generation of human ESCs by Thomson (Thomson et al. 1998 ). These break-
throughs led to the hypothesis that there is a coordination of factors in either oocytes
or ESCs that enable reprogramming of adult cells into an embryonic state.
The early publication in 2006 of the successful screening of a pool of 24 indi-
vidual factors that have a vital r ole in reprogramming adult cells into pluripotent
cells was accomplished by Yamanaka and Takahashi (Takahashi and Yamanaka
2006 ). The core factors essential in the reprogramming process included Otc4,
Sox2, Klf-4, and c-Myc (Takahashi and Yamanaka 2006 ). The iPSCs were gener-
ated by selection of ESC-specifi c Fbxo15 activation that expresses markers of PSCs
P. V. Pham (*) • N. H. Truong • N. K. Phan
Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application , University of Science,
Vietnam National University , Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam
Biology-Biotechnology Faculty , University of Science, Vietnam National University ,
Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam
e-mail: [email protected]
N. L.-C. Phan • N. B. Vu
Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application , University of Science,
Vietnam National University , Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam