Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be generated from differentiated human and mouse somatic cells using transcription factors such as Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. It is possible to augment the reprogramming process with chemical compounds, but issues related to low reprogramming efficiencies and, with a number of protocols, residual vector sequences, remain to be resolved. We show here that it is possible to reprogram mouse and human cells to pluripotency by direct transfection of mature double-stranded microRNAs (miRNAs). Our approaches use a combination of mir-200c plus mir-302 s and mir-369 s family miRNAs. Because this reprogramming method does not require vector-based gene transfer, it holds significant potential for biomedical research and regenerative medicine.

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Cancer cells secrete small membranous extracellular vesicles (EVs) into their microenvironment and circulation. Although their potential as cancer biomarkers has been promising, the identification and quantification of EVs in clinical samples remains challenging. Here we describe a sensitive and rapid analytical technique for profiling circulating EVs directly from blood samples of patients with colorectal cancer. EVs are captured by two types of antibodies and are detected by photosensitizer-beads, which enables us to detect cancer-derived EVs without a purification step. We also show that circulating EVs can be used for detection of colorectal cancer using the antigen CD147, which is embedded in cancer-linked EVs. This work describes a new liquid biopsy technique to sensitively detect disease-specific circulating EVs and provides perspectives in translational medicine from the standpoint of diagnosis and therapy.

We associated environmental and genetic factors with base substitution patterns of somatic mutations and provide a registry of genes and pathways that are disrupted in ESCCs. These findings might be used to design specific treatments for patients with esophageal squamous cancers.