Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Generation Using a Single Lentiviral Stem Cell Cassette

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be generated using retroviral vectors expressing Oct4, Klf4, Sox2, and cMyc. Most prior studies have required multiple retroviral vectors for reprogramming, resulting in high numbers of genomic integrations in iPS cells and limiting their use for therapeutic applications. Here we describe the use of a single lentiviral vector expressing a "stem cell cassette" composed of the four transcription factors and a combination of 2A peptide and internal ribosome entry site technology, generating iPS cells from postnatal fibroblasts. iPS cells generated in this manner display embryonic stem cell-like morphology, express stem cell markers, and exhibit in vivo pluripotency, as…

• VF
  V Foundation for Cancer Research
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• HS
  Harvard Stem Cell Institute