Team:
Mathilde Girard : Research associate (CECS)
Cécile Denis : Associate engineer (CECS)
The publication, in 2006 for mouse and in 2007 for human, of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) caused an upheaval in the stem cells community. These cells, generated from differentiated adult cells gone back to pluripotence by genetic modification, appear to harbour the same characteristics and capabilities as embryonic stem cells without carrying their ethical constraints.
In the I-stem project, this new type of pluripotent stem cells could on the one hand give access to the pathological modelling of diseases for which there are no available embryonic stem cell lines, and on the other hand represent a new source for cellular therapy.
The iPS project was created to explore the possibilities offered by these cells for the development of the Institute’s projects. The goals are to optimize and standardize the reprogramming protocols of cells towards iPS and to develop their quality control, in order to get closer to GMP production. In parallel, an iPS workshop will be proposed to teams seeking to develop a pathological model of any monogenic disease. This will benefit in real time of all advances of the technological development program, and will allow the creation of a bank of iPS pathological models.
