Yamanaka’s group demonstrated that induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic or adult fibroblasts by introducing four factors, Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4, under ES cell culture conditions.

Nakagawa et al. describe a modified protocol for the generation of iPSC that does not require the Myc retrovirus, and they obtained high quality iPSC without developing tumors during the study period. 

Gao’s group first demonstrated that fully mouse iPSC-derived embryos could be obtained through tetraploid complementation. This was a milestone event in proving the true pluripotency of iPSCs, similar to embryonic stem cells.

AnokyeDanso et al. demonstrated that expression of the miR302/367 cluster rapidly and efficiently reprograms mouse and human somatic cells to an iPSC state without a requirement for exogenous transcription factors.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to John Gurdon from the UK and Shinya Yamanaka from Japan for their "discovery of mature cells being reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells."

The first iPSC transplation for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration was completed in Japan. 

Kim et al. reported that mechanical stimuli can increase reprogramming efficiency for preparing human iPSC. However, it did not enhance the infection rate, indicating that mechanical stimuli have positive effects on reprogramming rather than on infection. 

Yang et. al., demonstrated that a chemical cocktail enables the derivation of stem cells with unique functional and molecular features from mice and humans, designated as extended pluripotent stem (EPS) cells, which are capable of chimerizing both embryonic and extraembryonic tissues.

Jarel K. Grandhi et. al., demonstrated that human fibrinogen provides a readily available and inexpensive alternative to laminin-based products for the growth, expansion, and differentiation of iPSCs for use in research and clinical cell therapy applications.

Deng’s group demonstrate that by creating an intermediate plastic state, the chemical reprogramming of human somatic cells to human chemically induced pluripotent stem cells that exhibit key features of embryonic stem cells.

Gao’s group revealed the causes of embryonic developmental defects constructed by expanded pluripotent stem cells (EPS) and using the double-layer structure produced by EPS combined with tetraploid trophoblast cells to obtain fertile mice.

Liang Zhen et. al., developed a novel islet transplantation strategy that effectively supports the survival, functional maturation, and long-term maintenance of differentiated pancreatic islet cells from human pluripotent stem cells in vivo, solving the key challenges of stem cell therapy for diabetes.

On May 1, teams such as Deng Hongkui and Li Cheng of Peking University and the Hangzhou Institute of Medicine of the Chinese Academy of Sciences successfully induced human pluripotent stem cells to differentiate into mature islet cells. This research will help the field more effectively prepare functionally mature human pluripotent stem cell-derived islet cells in vitro, providing higher-quality differentiated islet cells for future clinical cell replacement treatment of diabetes.