2.2 Induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs)
IPSCs are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be directly generated
from somatic cells. Due to this characterization, there is great
interest in IPSC technology worldwide. IPSC technology was pioneered by
Dr. Shinya Yamanaka in 2006, when he introduced four specific genes
named Myc, octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct3/4), sex
determining region Y-box 2 (Sox2), and kruppel like factor 4 (Klf4)
(which were also named Yamanaka factors), and then, encoding
transcription factors could convert somatic cells into pluripotent stem
cells. Yamanaka used this technology, and was awarded the 2012 Nobel
Prize along with Sir John Gurdon “for the discovery that mature cells
can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent(Takahashi & Yamanaka, 2006).