A commentary on iPS cells: potential applications in autologous transplantation, study of illnesses and drug screening.

Undoubtedly, the focus of the field of stem cell research is predominantly aimed at the artificial reprogramming of human somatic cells for the production of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. This relatively new technology may circumvent the ethical issues of using human embryonic stem (hES) cells for the potential applications in cell replacement therapy. Besides such ethical issues, iPS cell technology offers the advantage of obtaining patient-derived tissues and/or cells, which may be utilized for autologous transplantation and tissue regeneration, investigation of a variety of human illnesses and for the screening of new drugs. The field of stem cell research has placed a major emphasis in understanding the genetic and epigenetic codes for pluripotency, in order to control and optimize autologous transplantation techniques and avoid teratoma formation.