Proposed iPS Core Facility
Dear Colleagues,
The Charles C. Gates Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology Program (RMSCB) is planning to establish a Core facility that will generate mouse and human “induced pluripotent stem” (iPS) cells for the Denver research community. The purpose of this message is to find out whether there is sufficient interest within the faculty to support this Core.
Background: iPS cells can be generated from adult cells (e.g. skin fibroblasts) by the introduction of a combination of transcription factors. iPS cells have biological properties similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells. Most importantly, these cells can be induced in vitro to differentiate into many different cell types.
Use: iPS cells are becoming essential tools in stem cell research, regenerative medicine, studies aimed at elucidating disease mechanisms, and studies aimed at developing new therapeutic apporaches to treat genetic disorders. Using techniques developed for mouse ES cells, genetic markers (e.g. GFP, LacZ expression cassettes) can be introduced into the genome of iPS cells, thus allowing researchers to generate specific cell types that also carry a genetic tag.
Services: The new Core would generate iPS cells from different inbred mouse strains and, if required, insert custom-designed marker genes (e.g. a cell type- or tissue type-specific promoter driving expression of a marker gene such as GFP) into the genome of these cells. Ultimately, the Core would also generate human iPS cells, including disease-specific iPS cells. The later type of iPS cells will be of particular importance for the development of treatment options for genetic disease, since the iPS cells will be developed from patients in need of treatment.
If you are interested in using Core-provided iPS cells (human or mouse) , please fill out the short survey below and return your response to Peter.Koch@ucdenver.edu.
This information will help us in applying for startup funds from the NIH.
- PI name:
- NIH Funded: Y/N
- Funding NIH Institute(s):
- I might use iPS cells in: 1-2 years or 1-4 years
- E-mail: Peter.Koch@ucdenver.edu