The four transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc can induce pluripotency in mouse and human fibroblasts. We previously described direct reprogramming of adult mouse neural stem cells (NSCs) by Oct4 and either Klf4 or c-Myc. NSCs endogenously express Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4 as well as several intermediate reprogramming markers. Here we report that exogenous expression of the germline-specific transcription factor Oct4 is sufficient to generate pluripotent stem cells from adult mouse NSCs. These one-factor induced pluripotent stem cells (1F iPS) are similar to embryonic stem cells in vitro and in vivo. Not only can these cells can be efficiently differentiated into NSCs, cardiomyocytes, and germ cells in vitro, but they are also capable of teratoma formation and germline transmission in vivo. Our results demonstrate that Oct4 is required and sufficient to directly reprogram NSCs to pluripotency.

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have been generated from mouse and human somatic cells by ectopic expression of four transcription factors (OCT4 (also called POU5F1), SOX2, c-Myc and KLF4). We previously reported that Oct4 alone is sufficient to reprogram directly adult mouse neural stem cells to iPS cells. Here we report the generation of one-factor human iPS cells from human fetal neural stem cells (one-factor (1F) human NiPS cells) by ectopic expression of OCT4 alone. One-factor human NiPS cells resemble human embryonic stem cells in global gene expression profiles, epigenetic status, as well as pluripotency in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate that the transcription factor OCT4 is sufficient to reprogram human neural stem cells to pluripotency. One-factor iPS cell generation will advance the field further towards understanding reprogramming and generating patient-specific pluripotent stem cells.

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Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) may represent an ideal cell source for future regenerative therapies. A critical issue concerning the clinical use of patient-specific iPSCs is the accumulation of mutations in somatic (stem) cells over an organism's lifetime. Acquired somatic mutations are passed onto iPSCs during reprogramming and may be associated with loss of cellular functions and cancer formation. Here we report the generation of human iPSCs from cord blood (CB) as a juvenescent cell source. CBiPSCs show characteristics typical of embryonic stem cells and can be differentiated into derivatives of all three germ layers, including functional cardiomyocytes. For future therapeutic production of autologous and allogeneic iPSC derivatives, CB could be routinely harvested for public and commercial CB banks without any donor risk. CB could readily become available for pediatric patients and, in particular, for newborns with genetic diseases or congenital malformations.