Induction of pluripotency: from mouse to human

In this issue of Cell, Takahashi et al. (2007) transfer their seminal work on somatic cell reprogramming from the mouse to human. By overexpressing the transcription factor quartet of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc in adult human fibroblasts, they successfully isolate human pluripotent stem cells that resemble human embryonic stem cells by all measured criteria. This is a significant turning point in nuclear reprogramming research with broad implications for generating patient-specific pluripotent stem cells for research and therapeutic applications.