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Press Release No. 20/September 12, 2011 Press2011_Schöler E m b a r g o e d until: Monday, September 12, 2011, 1:00 PM Professor Schöler: Simplifying the Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Until recently, all four transcription factors of the quartet Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4 were essential to successfully reprogram adult stem cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. In 2009 the research group of Professor Hans Schöler of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster succeeded for the first time in converting adult human cells into iPS cells using only one single gene, Oct4. "Among other advantages, this reduces the risk of transmitting cancer progenitor cells during potential therapeutic applications in the future," said Professor Schöler in a statement to the press at the international conference "Stem Cells in Development and Disease", organized by the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin. The next step was to introduce Oct4 into human neuronal stem cells and to isolate those cells in the cultures that had converted into iPS cells. In addition to being generated by ES cells, Oct4 is only produced by the progenitor cells of egg and sperm cells. “That is the reason,” Professor Schöler explained, “why we could work successfully with testicular cells. In a suitable culture medium they can develop on their own into pluripotent “all-rounder” cells." Already twenty years ago, researchers showed that primordial germ cells (PGCs) could be induced into pluripotency by the mere modulation of the culture conditions. Recently, Hans Schöler’s research group succeeded in converting adult germline stem cells (GSCs) from mouse testicular cells into pluripotent stem cells by allowing the cells sufficient time and space to develop in their culture medium. These germline-derived pluripotent testicular cells are unipotent, that is, they only generate cells of the same type which are not only capable of self-renewing, but also of giving rise to sperm. In addition, the group showed that these cells can also be reprogrammed into heart or nerve cells. Professor Schöler, who is director of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the MPI Münster, said in Berlin: "Even if the germline stem cells are 'merely' unipotent, these insights represent a first step towards also reprogramming somatic cells, with much less effort. Thus, they can be converted into 'all-rounders' once again." Somatic cells accumulate mutations in the course of a lifetime. Genes that are rarely used are particularly susceptible to mutations. Therefore, the closer the similarity between the original cell and the iPS cell, the greater the likelihood of being able to use the iPS cells for therapy in the future, without transmitting genetic damage. Foundation under Public Law Directors: Professor Walter Rosenthal, Cornelia Lanz Member of the Hermann von Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres Hans Schöler, b. 1953 in Toronto/Canada, came to Germany to live in 1960 Studies of Biology in Heidelberg, P.D 1985, venia legendi in Molecular Biology 1994 1982 Center for Molecular Biology, Heidelberg 1991 European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg 1999 University of Pennsylvania 2004 Director of the Department for Cell and Developmental Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Münster and Professor at the Universities of Münster, MHH (Hannover) and Pennsylvania Selected research areas Molecular biology (discoverer of Oct4) Germ cells, nerve cells Stem cell research, iPS cells Memberships The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina North Rhine-Westphalia Academy of Sciences Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz Member of the Central Ethics Commission for Stem Cell Research (since 2005) 2008: Robert Koch Prize Contact: Prof. Dr. Hans Schöler Director MPI for Molecular Biomedicine, Cell and Developmental Biology Röntgenstraße 20, 48149 Münster, Germany Phone: +49-251/70365-300 e-mail: [email protected] www.mpi-muenster.mpg.de/research/teams/schoeler/index.html Press contact for this conference: MWM-Vermittlung Kirchweg 3 B, 14129 Berlin, Germany Phone: +49+30/803 96-86; Fax: -87 e-mail: [email protected] www.mwm-vermittlung.de/MDC2011.html Press contact MDC: Barbara Bachtler Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine Robert-Rössle-Straße 10, 13122 Berlin, Germany Phone: +49-30/9406-2463 e-mail: [email protected] www.mdc-berlin.de Foundation under Public Law Directors: Professor Walter Rosenthal, Cornelia Lanz Member of the Hermann von Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres