Direct cell reprogramming allows the conversion of a mature patient`s cell to other specialized cell fate of choice, thus tailor-making functional autologous cells needed for cell therapy, drug screening or disease modeling. The ability to change the identity of any cell from the organism into the desired cell-type is opening avenues to the discovery of novel therapies for blood-related diseases.
Instead of making induced pluripotent stem cells from a patient’s adult cells and differentiating them to other cell types over an extended period of time, direct cell reprogramming allow to take a person’s skin, blood, or other tissues, and to reprogram them directly into a distinct cell-type with therapeutic value. This personalized therapy goes around the risk of immune rejection, teratoma formation and bypass the ethical concerns of using cells derived from embryos or fetuses.