Chemicals Facilitating Reprogramming

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be generated from somatic cells by ectopically expressing a set of reprogramming factors. iPSCs hold tremendous promise for cell replacement therapy, drug discovery, and disease modeling. However, the efficiency of iPSC generation is extremely low and the quality of derived iPSCs is often poor. Many small molecules that are able to improve reprogramming by either modifying epigenetic barriers or targeting signaling pathways have recently been identified. Chemical compounds are a unique tool that can not only facilitate reprogramming but perhaps also improve our understanding of the reprogramming mechanism that allows us to generate safe iPSCs for therapeutic use.