Hum Mol Genet. 2013 Oct 15;22(R1):R32-8. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddt379. Epub 2013 Aug 14.
Based on cloning studies in mammals, all adult human cells theoretically contain DNA that is capable of creating a whole new person. Cells are maintained in their differentiated state by selectively activating some genes and silencing. The dogma until recently was that cell differentiation was largely fixed unless exposed to the environment of an activated oocyte. However, it is now possible to activate primitive pluripotent genes within adult human cells that take them back in time to a pluripotent state (termed induced pluripotent stem cells). This technology has grown at an exponential rate over the past few years, culminating in the Nobel Prize in medicine. Discussed here are recent developments in the field as they relate to regenerative medicine, with an emphasis on creating functional cells, editing their genome, autologous transplantation and how this ground-breaking field may eventually impact human aging.
基于哺乳动物的克隆研究，所有成年人类细胞理论上都包含能够创造全新个体的 DNA。细胞通过选择性激活某些基因和沉默来维持其分化状态。直到最近，教条主义还认为细胞分化在很大程度上是固定的，除非暴露于激活的卵母细胞的环境中。然而，现在可以在成人细胞中激活原始多能基因，使它们回到多能状态（称为诱导多能干细胞）。这项技术在过去几年中呈指数级增长，最终获得了诺贝尔医学奖。本文讨论了该领域的最新进展，重点介绍了如何创建功能性细胞、编辑其基因组、自体移植，以及这一开创性领域最终如何影响人类衰老。
