Virus Reprogramming Service
Creative BioMart Vir-Sci has played a crucial role in the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells or iPSCs) area. We have years of experience in generating iPS cell lines for scientists in academia and industry from a variety of custom samples. By using highly standardized and efficient methods, we can reprogram iPS cells with a very high success rate via viral-based delivery system.
Virus-Based Reprogramming
iPS cells share several important characteristics with embryonic stem cells including morphology, gene profile and differentiation potency. Since the pioneering finding that iPS cells can be generated by inducing expression of four reprogramming factors (Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4), it has been widely used in drug screening, or directly as therapies and disease models. Direct reprogramming of somatic cells into iPS cells thus represents a powerful technique in both basic and regenerative research. By virtue of the infection capacity to shuttle transcription factors into host cells, viral delivery systems, including integrating (retrovirus and lentivirus) and nonintegrating (adenovirus and sendai virus) viruses, serve as a highly efficient reprogramming strategy. A series of cells have been successfully induced into iPS cells via both methods, including peripheral blood mononuclear cells, urine cells and fibroblasts.
Figure 1. Schematic illustration of general processes involved in the production of iPS cell lines. Integrating or nonintegrating viruses carrying necessary reprogramming factors were used to infect donor cells. Following drug selection, positive clones were picked and expanded for further identification.
Features of Reprogramming by Integrating Viruses
- Wide range of target cells. Lentivirus can infect both dividing and non-dividing cells. Due to broadened tropism with VSV-G pseudo typing, lentiviruses are widely used to reprogram human cells, murine cells and even pig cells.
- Highly efficient. Viruses containing a single reprogramming cassette ensure optimal stoichiometry regrading to the expression level of all reprogramming factors, thus increasing the efficiency of reprogramming events.
- Excisable transgenes. Together with the Cre-LoxP recombinase system, integrated transgenes that are flanked by LoxP sites could be excised from the genome to increase safety.
- Inducible expression. Either constitutive or inducible expression of transcription factors could be achieved, depending on the use of promoters.
Features of Reprogramming by Nonintegrating Viruses
- High safety. Adenovirus and Sendai virus don’t integrate into the genome and are instead lost by dilution at high passages.
- Sendai viral reprogramming needs far fewer starting cells than other methods.
- Ease of use. Single transduction is enough for Sendai viral reprogramming.
Service Advantages
- Highly optimized protocols with highly efficient reprogramming service
- Short turnaround time to accelerate your research
- Strict QC testing to ensure iPS cells identity
- Sterility testing to avoid any contaminants
- Competitive price in the market
- Ensure 24/7 online service
Workflow of iPS Cells Generation Via Viral Reprogramming Service
The viral reprogramming service provided by Creative BioMart Vir-Sci empowers you to focus on your research interests. Simply send us your target cells and we will use highly-optimized protocols to generate iPS cells within a short period of time. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
References
- Takahashi, K.; Yamanaka, S. Induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic and adult fibroblast cultures by defined factors. Cell. 2006, 126(4): 663-676.
- Malik, N.; Rao, M. S. A review of the methods for human iPSC derivation. Methods Mol Biol. 2013, 997: 23-33.