Overview

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are derived from adult somatic cells that, through genetic manipulation, have been reprogrammed to resemble embryonic pluripotent stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells have the unique property of unlimited proliferation in the undifferentiated state while they retain the ability to differentiate into terminal cell types, including neurons, when cultured appropriately. iPSCs hold enormous potential for studying human development and disease, creating new systems to identify promising drugs, and generating customized replacement cells that can be used as therapies directly.

Not only do patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells circumvent the ethical issues surrounding the derivation of stem cells from human embryos, they have the added benefit of recapitulating the specific neuronal defect in the individual from which they are derived. While the technology for deriving these cells has its own challenges, and new ethical concerns arise around the subject of patient consent, researchers are optimistic about the future of the field.

On December 16, 2011, the New York Academy of Sciences presented a Hot Topics in Life Sciences symposium titled Patient-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for the Study of Neurological Diseases. Researchers discussed drug screens using iPSCs from patients with autism or with Parkinson's disease, use of the cell lines to understand how errors in imprinting affect neuronal development and to understand how neuronal defects arise in schizophrenia.

Use the tabs above to find a meeting report and multimedia from this event.

Presentations available from:
Marc Lalande, PhD (University of Connecticut School of Medicine)
Sergiu P. Pasca, MD (Stanford University School of Medicine)

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