Reprogramming of Human Fibroblasts with Non-integrating RNA Virus on Feeder-Free or Xeno-Free Conditions

Recent advances in generating induced pluripotent stem cells have radically advanced the field of regenerative medicine by making possible the production of patient-specific pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells. However, a major obstacle to the use of iPSC for therapeutic applications is the potential genomic modifications resulted from viral insertion of transgenes in the cellular genome. Second, the culture of iPSCs and adult cells often requires the use of animal products, which hinder the generation of clinical-grade iPSCs. We report here the generation of iPSCs by an RNA Sendai virus vector that does not integrate transgenes into the cell's genome. In addition, reprogramming can be performed on a feeder-free or xeno-free condition without containing animal products. Generation of an integrant-free iPSCs in these conditions will facilitate the studies of iPSCs in cell-based therapies.