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In embryos and induced pluripotent stem cells, Nanog sets the ground state of pluripotency Nanog, named after the fountain of eternal youth, is considered the key to pluripotency, but its role is puzzling: it can be deleted from embryonic stem cells without causing them to differentiate, and it is not among the collection of genes that can induce specialized cells to become pluripotent. Nonetheless, it does help human cells reprogram and can be used to separate incompletely reprogrammed cells from fully reprogrammed ones.

Researchers have regressed human stem cells to an embryonic state using just a single transcription factor, as opposed to the four factors previously needed to induce pluripotency in human cells, according to a study published online today (August 28) in Nature.

Globs of human fat removed during liposuction conceal versatile cells that are more quickly and easily coaxed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, than are the skin cells most often used by researchers, according to a new study from Stanford's School of Medicine.

Differentiated human cells have been reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state with the addition of only one gene rather than the standard four. This should advance techniques for the efficient production of high-quality patient-specific stem cells.