Image Glossary > Cellular Reprogramming

Cellular reprogramming describes the process where a fully differentiated, specialized cell type is induced to transform into a different cell type that they would not otherwise become under normal physiological conditions.  Cellular reprogramming has been achieved using a variety of methods, including somatic cell nuclear transfer, cell-cell fusion and, most recently, through the introduction of four transcription factors.  Most scientists have focused on reprogramming somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells, but recently some researchers have begun to focus on reprogramming somatic cells into multipotent stem cells, which have a more restricted developmental potential and are closer to the cell population the researcher ultimately wants to engineer.

Stem Cell There are many different types of stem cells within our body. Each type of stem cell is defined by the group of specialized cells it give... Read More

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell A somatic cell that has been reprogrammed to exhibit pluripotent stem cell properties. Many somatic cells have been... Read More

iPS Colony Refers to the tightly packed homogenous cluster of induced pluripotent cells. Undifferentiated embryonic stem cells and... Read More

Fibroblast A type of cell in loose connective tissue that secretes the protein ingredients of the extracellular matrix. Many somatic cells... Read More

Reprogramming Factors In 2006, the Yamanaka lab identified four factors that, when co-transfected and expressed in mouse adult fibroblast cells, caused.... Read More

Chromatin The complex of DNA and DNA-binding protein that makes up a eukaryotic chromosome. The DNA is wrapped around histone proteins... Read More

Retrovirus An RNA virus that fuses to surface receptors located within the host cell's plasma membrane. After binding, the membrane of the... Read More

Reverse Transcriptase A DNA polymerase enzyme that transcribes single-stranded RNA into double-stranded DNA which is then integrated into the host ... Read More

Transcription Factor A regulatory protein that binds to DNA and affects the transcription of specific genes. The four reprogramming factors... Read More