Induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are produced from a variety of source tissues including fibroblasts, epithelial progenitor cells, peripheral blood mononucleocytes (PBMC), and others. For Human iPSC, the pluripotency state is sometimes referred to as the “primed” state. Among iPSC lines, heterogeneity has been shown to exist in proliferation and the capacity to differentiate. This can cause issues in data interpretation or even limit the utility of Human iPSC in some disease cell models for basic research or drug discovery.

Recent publications have shown that Human iPSC, when cultured under special conditions, can be transitioned to what may be a more primitive form perhaps similar to cells in the pre-implantation state of a developing embryo. This state is referred to as the “naïve” state. In mouse and rabbit iPSC systems, naïve state cells have been shown to increase the efficiency and reproducibility (less bias) of terminal differentiation, including giving rise to some terminally differentiated cell types that display greater maturity. Thanks to this evidence (in other species), the accelerated growth characteristics of naïve cells, and other attributes linked to pluripotency, there is worldwide a rapidly growing interest in the Human stem cell research community. [Read more…]