BackgroundHuman induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) have enormous potential in the development of cellular models of human disease and represent a potential source of autologous cells and tissues for therapeutic use. A question remains as to the biological age of IPSCs, in particular when isolated from older subjects. Studies of cloned animals indicate that somatic cells reprogrammed to pluripotency variably display telomere elongation, a common indicator of cell “rejuvenation.”Methodology/Principal FindingsWe examined telomere lengths in human skin fibroblasts isolated from younger and older subjects, fibroblasts converted to IPSCs, and IPSCs redifferentiated through teratoma formation and explant culture. In IPSCs analyzed at passage five (P5), telomeres were significantly elongated in 6/7 lines by >40% and approximated telomere lengths in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). In cell lines derived from three IPSC-teratoma explants cultured to P5, two displayed telomeres shortened to lengths similar to input fibroblasts while the third line retained elongated telomeres.Conclusions/SignificanceWhile these results reveal some heterogeneity in the reprogramming process with respect to telomere length, human somatic cells reprogrammed to pluripotency generally displayed elongated telomeres that suggest that they will not age prematurely when isolated from subjects of essentially any age.

To better understand the basis of variation in cellular reprogramming, we performed experiments with two primary objectives: first, to determine the degree of difference, if any, in reprogramming efficiency among cells lines of a similar type after accounting for technical variables, and second, to compare the efficiency of conversion of multiple similar cell lines to two separate reprogramming regimens-induced neurons and induced skeletal muscle. Using two reprogramming regimens, it could be determined whether converted cells are likely derived from a distinct subpopulation that is generally susceptible to reprogramming or are derived from cells with an independent capacity for respecification to a given phenotype. Our results indicated that when technical components of the reprogramming regimen were accounted for, reprogramming efficiency was reproducible within a given primary fibroblast line but varied dramatically between lines. The disparity in reprogramming efficiency between lines was of sufficient magnitude to account for some discrepancies in published results. We also found that the efficiency of conversion to one phenotype was not predictive of reprogramming to the alternate phenotype, suggesting that the capacity for reprogramming does not arise from a specific subpopulation with a generally ''weak grip'' on cellular identity. Our findings suggest that parallel testing of multiple cell lines from several sources may be needed to accurately assess the efficiency of direct reprogramming procedures, and that testing a larger number of fibroblast lines-even lines with similar origins-is likely the most direct means of improving reprogramming efficiency.

Background: Human induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) have enormous potential in the development of cellular models of human disease and represent a potential source of autologous cells and tissues for therapeutic use. A question remains as to the biological age of IPSCs, in particular when isolated from older subjects. Studies of cloned animals indicate that somatic cells reprogrammed to pluripotency variably display telomere elongation, a common indicator of cell ''rejuvenation.'' Methodology/Principal Findings: We examined telomere lengths in human skin fibroblasts isolated from younger and older subjects, fibroblasts converted to IPSCs, and IPSCs redifferentiated through teratoma formation and explant culture. In IPSCs analyzed at passage five (P5), telomeres were significantly elongated in 6/7 lines by .40% and approximated telomere lengths in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). In cell lines derived from three IPSC-teratoma explants cultured to P5, two displayed telomeres shortened to lengths similar to input fibroblasts while the third line retained elongated telomeres.Conclusions/Significance: While these results reveal some heterogeneity in the reprogramming process with respect to telomere length, human somatic cells reprogrammed to pluripotency generally displayed elongated telomeres that suggest that they will not age prematurely when isolated from subjects of essentially any age.