2009 Volume 28 Issue 2+3+4 Pages 129-133
In 1998, human embryonic stem (hES) cells have been established. In 2007, human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells have been developed. Since then, the hES/iPS cells have been used as a tool for understanding the mechanisms in human development and regeneration application research in the world. hES cells are retrieved from the inner cell mass of human blastocyts. Therefore, it has been considered that hES cells should posses the possibility to differentiate into all cell types in human body. hiPS cells might have the similar characteristics to those of hES cells. To develop hES/iPS cell lines, it should be important to determine the pluripotency of the cells. In this review, I have summarized the differentiation potency of human ES and iPS cells.
