Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) Cells

How does iPS 2.0 cell technology work?

1. A human biological sample, for example skin, blood, or hair, is obtained and the cells within the sample are grown under appropriate cell culture conditions.
   
   
2. In the iPS 2.0 method, two or three plasmids containing multiple reprogramming genes are introduced into the cells.
   
   While the plasmids turn genes in the cell on and off, reprogramming them to a stem cell state, they do not integrate into the genome itself. At CDI, we create iPS cells using the method published in Science by Dr. Junying Yu and Dr. James Thomson, CDI founder and University of Wisconsin researcher. This method avoids concerns arising over the potential risks associated with the insertion of foreign DNA or oncogenes to induce reprogramming, which other prior iPS methods use (top row in illustration above).
   
   
3. After approximately four weeks pluripotent stem cells can be observed, isolated, and expanded under cell culture conditions. The ability to successfully create and grow iPS cells requires significant stem cell expertise. The iPS cell colonies are very fragile and sensitive to manipulation. Our highly skilled scientific staff has more than 130 years combined human stem cell culture experience.
   
   
4. CDI uses patented, proprietary methods to direct the cell differentiation process into specific cell lineages, including cardiomyocytes, hematopoietic cells, neural cells, and more.

How can iPS cells be used?

• iPS cells can be used to create disease models to study the specific mechanisms and therefore modes of treatment and their effectiveness.
• iPS cells can be created from genetically diverse populations to allow the study of how drugs affect these individuals.
• iPS cells can be created from patients who experience adverse drug effects to further study what pathways contribute to the adverse effect.

iPS Cell History

March 2009	CDI founder Dr. James Thomson and Dr. Junying Yu reported vector-free human iPS cells.
July 2008	Human iPS cells were derived from an individual patient with ALS disease. These iPS cells were directly differentiated into those neural cells destroyed by ALS.
2008	Based on the promise of iPS cell technology, CDI and SCP merge into a single company, Cellular Dynamics International.
Nov 2007	Human iPS cells were induced from skin cells.
June 2007	Mouse iPS cells were induced with the ability to create germline cells.
Aug 2006	Mouse induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells were induced, although without the ability to create germline cells.
Aug 2005	Human fibroblasts were reprogrammed when they were fused with human ES cells.
2004, 2005	Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) and its sister company, Stem Cell Products, Inc. (SCP), were formed based on hES cell technology and IP licensed from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
Nov 1998	CDI founder Dr. James Thomson reported the derivation of human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Their ability to generate any cell in the body revolutionized thinking in the field of regenerative medicine. Starting with human ES cells, CDI founder Dr. Timothy Kamp was able to differentiate them into human cardiomyocytes, generating a cell type that was previously very difficult to obtain from primary cell sources. From 1998 to present many groups have been refining differentiation protocols and generating new cell types from human ES cells.
Feb 1997	The idea of cell reprogramming began in 1997 with Dolly the cloned sheep. Dolly showed it was possible to have a differentiated adult cell revert back to a blank slate cell and give rise to all the different cell types in an organism.