Revised: April 2, 2013
Accepted: May 8, 2013
Published online: July 27, 2013
Processing time: 90 Days and 7.8 Hours
The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Sir John B Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka “for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent”. Professor John B Gordon who pioneered the field of somatic cell nuclear transfer was the first to show that a nucleus of a mature cell can be transplanted into an enucleated egg and give rise to a living organism. His pioneering “cloning” technique paved the way for genome reprogramming and has led to subsequent cloning of differentanimal species. Professor Shinya Yamanaka revolutionized the filed of stem cell production by showing that the introduction of four selected genes into cells transform them into induced pluripotent stem cells that resemble embryonic stem cells and serve as promising cells for future regenerative medicine.
Core tip: The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Sir John B Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka “for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent”. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from healthy and sick patients could be a useful source for drug discovery, while healthy iPS cells could serve as a unique and highly promising source for future cell transplantation therapies and regenerative medicine.