In 2012, Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize for showing that mature cells can revert to a stem‑cell state, creating what we now call iPS cells. Many of our grantees are using this discovery to develop therapies and to study how diseases form and respond to drugs.
Improved process
But that breakthrough was only the start. Since Yamanaka’s 2006 announcement, scientists have worked to make iPS‑cell generation more efficient and safer. The original method inserted genes into cells, raising concerns about safety for transplantation.
A team at the University of California, Berkeley, led by Song Li, has found that a cell’s physical environment can improve this process. Li holds a CIRM Basic Biology award to develop better ways to generate iPS cells and use them to pursue therapies for neurological diseases.
Tiny grooves
The group placed skin cells on a surface with tiny grooves, then applied the usual reprogramming factors. The cells produced four times more iPS cells than normal. They saw the same effect when they grew the cells on parallel nanofibers.
Li explained in a press release about the October 20 Nature Materials:
“Our study demonstrates that the physical features of biomaterials can replace some biochemical factors and help regulate a cell’s identity.”
Lead author Timothy Downing suggested the technique works because the surface causes cells to elongate. This is similar to how they behave in the body:
“Cells elongate as they migrate throughout the body. By controlling a cell’s elongation through its physical environment, we can better mimic its natural conditions. These physical cues are less invasive and less likely to cause unintended side effects.”
This work shows how basic research can strengthen therapy development. A more efficient and safer way to generate iPS cells would give teams developing new treatments better, safer cells to work with.