Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are generated from somatic cells that have been reprogrammed by the ectopic expression of defined embryonic transcription factors. This technology has provided investigators with a powerful tool for modelling disease and developing treatments for human disorders. This chapter provides the researcher with some background on iPSCs and details on how to produce MEFconditioned medium, prepare mitotically arrested mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), create iPSCs using viral vectors, passage iPSCs, and cryopreserve iPSCs. The methods offered here have been used in many laboratories around the world and the reader can initially follow these methods. However, not all cell types are easily transduced using viral vectors and other methods of delivering the reprogramming transcription factors may need to be tested.