BRAINCAKEInduced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are pluripotent cells made from adult body cells. iPS cells can be produced from adult somatic cells using appropriate protein transcription factors.
A specialised cell, such as a skin cell, still contains all of the genes, but the genes needed for pluripotency have been switched off. To reprogramme it:
1. Genes for several transcription factors associated with pluripotency are introduced into the cell, usually using a harmless virus as a vector.
2. The genes are expressed, so the transcription factors are made.
3. The transcription factors switch on the genes associated with pluripotency, and the cell returns to an unspecialised, pluripotent state.
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Key terms in this lesson
- vector
- A vehicle, such as a plasmid or virus, used to carry a gene of interest into a host cell during genetic engineering.
- transcription factor
- A protein that binds to a specific DNA base sequence and stimulates or inhibits the transcription of a gene.
More in Control of Gene Expression
- Totipotent Stem Cells
- Pluripotent, Multipotent and Unipotent Stem Cells
- Stem Cells in Mature Plants
- Stem Cells in Treating Disease
- Transcription Factors
- Oestrogen and the Initiation of Transcription
- RNA Interference (siRNA and miRNA)
- Epigenetics
All 18 lessons in Control of Gene Expression · All AQA A-level Biology topics