Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
investors and developers alike, with a number of companies moving
into iPSC research in the US with more no doubt to come (Gravitz,
2009). In 2009, these companies included iZumi Bio, Fate
Therapeutics, Cellular Dynamics and pharmaceutical giant GSK
(Gravitz, 2009). Since then, iZumi Bio has merged with iPierian
(
http://www.ipierian.com
). Other companies that have an interest in
iPSCs include Cellectis (
http://www.cellectis.com
), iPS Academia
Japan (
http://ips-cell.net
) and StemGent (
http://www.stemgent.com
).
Most of these companies are located in the US, with a significant
exception being iPS Academia Japan. iPS Academia Japan is a
spin-out company developed from Tamanaka's original work, and
has developed a number of collaborations worldwide. There are also
a number of other companies that provide cell culture mediums and
other supporting technologies specifically developed for iPSCs. Stem
Cells Inc. (
http://www.stemcellsinc.com
) is one of these.
6.1
iPSCs and the autologous solution
The main advantage of iPSCs is thought to be that the original
sample is easy to collect and can therefore be genetically matched
and tailor-made to the patient. To date, however, there have been
difficulties emerging around the capacity to redirect an iPSC into a
specific cell type, its stability over the long term and whether or not
tissue-matching achieved through induced pluripotency will overcome
immune rejection problems usually associated with donor materials.
Until these problems are solved, iPSCs are still just as complex as
hESCs but without the ethical qualms over the sourcing of
materials.
For example, a recent report about mice stem cells from
tissue-matched donors provoking immune system reactions has
challenged the idea that genetically matched iPSCs could avoid the
problems of immune reactions in patients (Apostolou and
Hochedlinger, 2011). In an experiment designed to test the assumption
that iPSCs would not provoke immune reactions, researchers in the
US discovered that iPSCs injected into immuno-compromised mice
developed into teratomas with many different cell types, but when
