From skin cells to hepatocytes: advances in application of iPS cell technology.

The discovery several years ago that fibroblasts and other somatic cells from mice and humans can be reprogrammed to become inducible pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has created enthusiasm for their potential applications in regenerative medicine and for modeling human diseases. Two independent studies in this issue of the JCI provide evidence that iPS cells represent a promising source of hepatocytes for a wide range of applications, including cell transplantation, drug toxicity testing, patient-specific disease modeling, and even ex vivo gene therapy. But how far have we come?