Neuroscience Seminar Series
Vendredi, 21 juin 2019, 11:30, R229 (2e étage), Centre Universitaire des Saints Pères, 45 rue des Saints Pères, 75006 Paris
Mark Kotter, Professor University of Cambridge, UK
Title: Inducible and deterministic forward programming
of human pluripotent stem cells into somatic cell
types. – The stem cell promise fulfilled?
Abstract:
The discovery of human stem cells has fueled hopes and expectation of using human
cells for drug discovery, research and cell therapy. However, during the past two decades,
technical challenges have limited a broad adoption of human stem cells. Many conventional
differentiation protocols are challenging, lack consistency, and are not scalable.
Direct cell reprogramming is a novel synthetic biology paradigm that is revolutionising
our understanding of cellular identity. An ever-increasing number of protocols mediating
transitions between cellular states challenge traditional concepts of cell types.
Reprogramming was thought to be restricted to and predetermined by conducive metastable
states of cells. Our recent work challenges these preconceptions. By overcoming gene
silencing phenomena in human pluripotent stem cells, it is possible to deterministically
reprogram human iPSCs into different human cell types within time scales of less than a
week. Large scale ‘omics studies provide a detailed insight into the molecular processes that
govern these rapid and efficient cellular transitions. In conclusion, cellular reprogramming
overcomes known bottlenecks of stem cell research and has the potential of providing
reliable cells for research and large-scale applications.
Those interested in meeting with the speaker please contact
philippe.djian@parisdescartes.fr