We Are Tomodachi Spring 2017

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27VolunteerBlood donationiPS cell genera-tion, evaluationStoragePharmaceutical companiesResearchinstitutesCiRAPatientTransplantDistribution of iPS cellsGeneration of differentiated cells for transplantNerve cellsCardiacmuscle cellsLiver cells, etc.Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cellsEmbryonic stem(ES) cellsMethod of generationGenerated from somatic cells such as skin and blood cells Generated from embryos shortly after fertilizationAdvantages• Can change into various cells in the body• Can proliferate indefinitely• No immune rejection (in cases of autologous transplantation of iPS cell–derived somatic cells)• Can change into various cells in the body• Can proliferate indefinitelyDisadvantages• Quality is still variable• Use of human embryos raises an ethical issueIn the iPS Cell Stock for Regenerative Medicine project, blood is collected from healthy donors with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) types that are thought to be relatively unlikely to cause immune rejection. After clinical-grade iPS cells are generated and evaluated in the Facility for iPS Cell Therapy (FiT) at CiRA, they are cryopreserved. Distribution to other research institutes and companies has already begun, and FiT aims to have a stock of iPS cells that can be used for most of the Japanese population by the end of fiscal year 2022.1. iPS cells are stem cells generated by reprogramming somatic cells such as skin and blood cells with the introduction of a few factors. The stem cells have the capacity to change, or differentiate, into various cells in the body and to proliferate indefinitely. (Photo by Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka.) 2. Kyoto University's CiRA facility. 3. Both iPS cells and embryonic stem (ES) cells have the capacity to change, or differentiate, into various cells in the body and to proliferate indefinitely. Research is progressing steadily toward overcoming challenges that iPS cells face, such as variations in quality.132Shinya YamanakaBorn in 1962 in Osaka Prefecture. Graduated from Kobe University School of Medicine in 1987, and earned a PhD from Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine in 1993. After working in a postdoctoral position at the Gladstone Institutes and as a professor at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, he became a professor at Kyoto University in 2004. Appointed director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) in 2010, and awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012.