By Michael Eisenstein

In 2006, with formidable legal and technical obstacles keeping the promise of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in check, Shinya Yamanaka's announcement was truly a scientific 'shot heard around the world'. He and his team at Kyoto University had reprogrammed adult mouse fibroblasts into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) opening the stem cell field to legions of eager scientists and offering the promise of unprecedented capabilities for targeted disease research using stem cells derived directly from patients of interest.

Yamanaka's approach of genetically induced reprogramming itself was not revolutionary, and the four reprogramming factors he identified (Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4) were known to contribute to cell proliferation and maintenance of pluripotency; what was remarkable was finding a combination that actually worked, even at modest efficiency. “People have been working on reprogramming with nearly identical approaches and concepts for a long time,” says Sheng Ding of The Scripps Research Institute, “but I would say that most attempts failed; that's why this work with iPSCs was a breakthrough discovery.” Subsequent work by James Thomson and colleagues replicated Yamanaka's success with human cells and revealed additional factors—Nanog and Lin28—that facilitate the reprogramming process^.

Just three years later, the field has exploded, and many of the tools for iPSC production, characterization and differentiation are now available 'over the counter' from a variety of institutions and companies. “When everyone was doing ESCs, there was that sense that each individual ESC line was precious,” says Nick Seay, chief technology officer at Cellular Dynamics International (CDI). “The whole paradigm has shifted: there can be a line or three for everybody, and we're looking at everybody's stem cells.”

Table of Suppliers that provide reagents and services in iPSC production.

http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/v7/n1/fig_tab/nmeth0110-81_T1.html

To read more, go to Nature Method here http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/v7/n1/full/nmeth0110-81.html