Review Volume 4, Issue 12 pp 878—886

Embryonic stem cells and inducible pluripotent stem cells: two faces of the same coin?

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Figure 2. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

(A) iPSCs are generated by the transduction in somatic cells of “pluripotency” factors. The resulting iPSCs have similar properties to ESCs. (B) p53 pathways regulate the efficiency of reprogramming. Overexpression of the oncogenic c-myc during reprogramming induces the ARF/p53 pathway that drives the cells to apoptosis or senescence and the miR-34 family negatively regulates the expression of Nanog and Sox2. In a miR-34 null-context, the expression of Nanog and Sox2 is increased, resulting in a higher reprogramming efficiency.