Chemical journey of somatic cells to pluripotency.

Reprogramming somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells has revolutionized the biomedical field by providing enormous hopes and opportunities for the regeneration of tissues and organs for transplantation. Using a small molecule cocktail of epigenetic modifiers and cell signalling inhibitors, a chemical-based easy and controllable technique for converting human somatic cells into chemically induced pluripotent stem cells was recently reported (Guan, Nature 605:325-31, 2022). This novel approach offers well-defined, safe, simple, easy, and clinical-grade manufacturing strategies for modifying the fate of human cells required for regenerative therapeutics.