Cellular Reprogramming: Paradigm of Futuristic Medicine

Abstract

In the past twenty years, the discourse of “Cellular Reprogramming†has gone from fundamental science to the science of “ applied bioengineeringâ€, with workers working feverishly to recreate a variety of cell types. Once thought as irretrievably differentiated, mature cells are now seen to be “flexible entities†capable of switching or “flip-flopping†from one form to another with relatively simple manipulation. Although onset of induced pluripotent cells from the reprogrammed somatic cells by spatial and temporal expression of several transcription factors is a well-documented phenomenon in today’s cellular differentiation understanding, the genetic basis of such is still poorly understood. Here in this review, we attempt to analyze the current advances of the rapidly growing field of cellular reprogramming and differentiation, along with putative directions of future research involving the same.