Cellular reprogramming of somatic cells.

The process of 'cell reprogramming' can be achieved by somatic cell nuclear transfer, cell fusion with embryonic stem cells, exposure to stem cell extracts, or by inducing pluripotentcy mediated by defined factors giving rise to what are termed induced pluripotent stem cells. More recently, the fate of a somatic cell can be directly induced to uptake other cell fates, termed lineage-specific reprogramming, without the need to de-differentiate the cells to a pluripotent state. In this review we will describe the different methods of reprogramming somatic cells.