Reprogramming of cells without virus

2009/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biokimika
• Genetika

Researchers at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute in Toronto and the University of Edinburgh have managed to convert human cells specialized in embryo stem cells without using viruses.

So far, scientists have reprogrammed cells by virus. They basically introduce four genetic factors into viruses, which infect the cells that want to reprogram. Genetic factors make specialized cells stop being cells with a certain function until then and turn into pluripotent stem cells. Genetic factors are known as Yamanaka factors, the name of the researcher who developed this technique for the first time.

Well, the current scientists have introduced the genes that encode Yamanaka factors in a postponed, that is, in a piece of DNA capable of moving through the genome. They have seen that this trasposón is able to be introduced into the DNA of the surface cells of the human being and reprogram them to become cells similar to those of the embryo phase.