In 2006, Takahashi and Yamanaka first created induced pluripotent stem cells from mouse fibroblasts via the retroviral introduction of genes encoding the transcription factors Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf44, and c-Myc. Since then, the future clinical application of somatic cell reprogramming technology has become an attractive research topic in the field of regenerative medicine. Of note, considerable interest has been placed in circumventing ethical issues linked to embryonic stem cell research. However, tumorigenicity, immunogenicity, and heterogeneity may hamper attempts to deploy this technology therapeutically. This review highlights the progress aimed at reducing induced pluripotent stem cells tumorigenicity risk and how to assess the safety of induced pluripotent stem cells cell therapy products.
Keywords: chemical-induced reprogramming; drug-inducible suicide system; induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs); regenerative medicine; reprogramming transcription factors; tumorigenicity.
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the West China School of Medicine & West China Hospital of Sichuan University.