Induced pluripotent stem cells: advances in research and application in dermatology

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a kind of stem cells induced from somatic cells by reprogramming with some specific pluripotent transcription factors. Compared with traditional stem cells, iPSCs have many advantages, including a wide range of sources, the ability of totipotent differentiation, and less ethical and sourcing issues associated with embryonic stem cells which have been debated for a long time. In dermatology, iPSCs can be used to make regenerative skin, establish models of skin diseases, provide a new platform for studying the pathogenesis of skin diseases, and perform cell treatment or gene modification treatment for specific skin diseases. At present, the application value of iPSCs has been verified among animal models, and clinical trials are also under way. Key words: Multipotent stem cells; Regenerative medicine; Skin diseases; Disease models, animal; Gene therapy; Induced pluripotent stem cells