Generation of iPS Cells from Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells by Lentiviral Transduction and Their Differentiation to Neuronal Lineage

Substantial progress has been made in somatic cell reprogramming through ectopic expression of four transcription factors to yield induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. We have used the robust viral-based modification procedure to generate iPS cells from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), an attractive source of the cells for reprogramming. Our method uses a multistep protocol in which reprogramming cells are selected by culturing in defined conditions on Matrigel, which may facilitate potential clinical applications. HUVEC-derived iPS cells show pluripotency in vivo and can differentiate into many cell types in vitro, including neuronal lineages. Here we describe an efficient protocol for generating iPS cells from HUVEC and differentiating these iPS cells into neurons.