The progress made in stem cell biology over the past decade has opened up many new possibilities for basic and translational scientists worldwide. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are particularly useful because scientists can transform them into many different cell types to use for research or therapies. Scientists produce iPSCs by prompting adult cells to revert back to an embryonic stem cell-like state, where they have the potential to become any type of cell. iPSC-based therapies are ideal because they use a patients own cells, preventing complications such as immune system rejection, which can occur when cells are transplanted from other sources. In addition, scientists can use iPSCs to produce the large amounts of cells needed for disease research, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, many technical barriers remain for translating this technology into clinical use. As the CRM transitions to NCATS management, NCATS is working to advance translational methods in stem cell research with support from the NIH Common Fund. NCATS is establishing a new facility that will have three major goals: 1.Establish detailed quality control (QC) standards to define differentiated cell types and pluripotency. 2.Develop methods to assess variations in cultured cells derived from iPSCs. 3.Develop standard methods to produce mature cells meeting the QC standards above. 4. Discover, validate, and disseminate small molecule reagents to replace expensive recombinant proteins, xenogenic material, and undefined media components in cell differentiation protocols
| García-Castro, Javier; Singeç, Ilyas (2017) Prospects of Pluripotent and Adult Stem Cells for Rare Diseases. Adv Exp Med Biol 1031:371-386 |
| Singeç, Ilyas; Simeonov, Anton (2016) Translating Stem Cell Biology Into Drug Discovery. Drug Target Rev 3:34-38 |
