Naive human iPS cells

The inability to generate fully undifferentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells in vitro has dogged the development of stem cell-based platforms because the residual lineage bias of the cells most likely contributes to the inefficiency and inconsistency of current differentiation protocols. An Israeli team thinks it has solved the problem with the optimization of a small molecule and cytokine cocktail capable of maintaining human cells in a more fully undifferentiated state.¹

The group expects that the naïve cells will be useful in generating somatic cells for research and clinical applications and for creating new animal models, although it still remains unclear whether the cells provide an advantage over conventionally derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells...