Pluripotent stem cells obtained by non-viral reporgramming

Abstract

Methods for reprogramming primate somatic cells to pluripotency using an episomal vector that does not encode an infectious virus are disclosed. Pluripotent cells produced in the methods are also disclosed.

We claim: 
     
         1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . An in vitro population of primate pluripotent cells produced according to the method of:
 a) transiently introducing a plurality of plasmids into primate somatic cells of a postnatal individual in vitro; and   b) culturing the cells obtained in step a) under conditions such that a population of pluripotent cells are obtained,   wherein the plurality of plasmids transiently introduced into the cells are selected from the group consisting of:   (i) pEP4-E-O2S-E-T2K, pEP4-E-O2S-E-N2K and pCEP4-M2L;   (ii) pEP4-E-O2S-C-K2M-E-N2L and pEP4-E-O2S-E-T2K; and   (iii) pEP4-E-O2S-E-N2L, pEP4-E-O2S-E-T2K and pEP4-E-O2S-E-M2K,   wherein-pEP4 and pCEP4 are plasmids, E is an EF1α promoter; O is an OCT4 coding region, S is a SOX2 coding region, T is an SV40T antigen coding region, N is a NANOG coding region, K is a KLF4 coding region, M is a c-Myc coding region, C is a CMV promoter and L is a LIN28 coding region; and wherein pluripotent cells in the population comprise a plurality of plasmids from at least one of (i), (ii), or (iii) transiently introduced into the cells, wherein the resulting primate pluripotent cells do not stably retain the plasmids.   
     
     
         22 . The population of  claim 21 , wherein the primate somatic cells are human somatic cells. 
     
     
         23 . The population of  claim 21 , wherein OCT4 and SOX2 are human. 
     
     
         24 . The population of  claim 21 , wherein LIN28, NANOG, c-Myc, and KLF4 are human. 
     
     
         25 . A pharmaceutical composition comprising the cell population of claim  1  with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.