Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Dermatology: Potentials, Advances, and Limitations

Abstract

The discovery of methods for reprogramming adult somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has raised the possibility of producing truly personalized treatment options for numerous diseases. Similar to embryonic stem cells (ESCs), iPSCs can give rise to any cell type in the body and they are amenable to genetic correction by homologous recombination. These ESC properties of iPSCs allow for the development of permanent corrective therapies for many currently incurable disorders, including inherited skin diseases, without using embryonic tissues or oocytes. Here, we review recent progress and limitations of iPSC research with a focus on clinical applications of iPSCs, and using iPSCs to model human diseases for drug discovery in the field of dermatology.

Current and Future Perspectives of Stem Cell Therapy in Dermatology

“…The differentiation of both, mouse and human iPSCs into keratinocytes 72 , melanocytes 73 , and fibroblasts 74 has already been successfully shown. This thus opens the possibility of extending iPSC technology into the field of dermatology 17 .…”

“…The range of the latter extends in primary reprogramming systems from 0.01% up to 1%, depending on the applied protocol and cell type. This is caused by the different effects of the preexisting gene expression pattern of distinct adult cell types on the forced expression of the reprogramming factors 17 .…”

EB2017—Progress in Epidermolysis Bullosa Research toward Treatment and Cure

“…A great advantage of iPS cell-based treatment approaches lies in the autologous nature of the cells that are generated and in the lack of immune reactions to corresponding tissue grafts. Significant technical advances in production, gene correction/gene editing, and safety of good manufacturing practice-quality iPS cells have been reported (Bilousova and Roop, 2014;Sebastiano et al, 2014), and examples of quality criteria include minimal cellular heterogeneity and high level of production of the corrected protein, for example, keratins 5 and 14 in cases of EBS and collagen VII in DEB. Furthermore, to improve graft quality, refinement of three-dimensional organotypic cultures with iPS cell-derived keratinocytes and fibroblasts is being pursued (Shinkuma et al, 2016).…”

Regenerating human epithelia with cultured stem cells: feeder cells, organoids and beyond

“…Initial data suggest that small numbers of de novo mutations are introduced during organoid culture, but this nevertheless compares favorably to the number of mutations that are introduced during induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell culture (Huch et al , ). For these reasons, adult epithelial cells remain the first choice for clinical application, but iPS options should be explored if the use of adult stem cells is not feasible (Bilousova & Roop, ). This might include simple epithelia, cases where adult stem cells have been destroyed by injury—such as severe bilateral burns of the cornea—or if whole tissue substitutes (e.g., full‐thickness skin) can be developed (Workman et al , ).…”