One of themかThe Methodか

小保方晴子さんがアイドル級の扱いを受けていますが、Natureのポッドキャストにも英語でインタビューを受けています。TenaciousとNatureが評していた通り思いついたものをすべて試したと語っています。ポッドキャストでも取り上げているということはNatureも注目をしている研究ということなのですね。

科学素人の自分には何がニュースなのか、この研究が決定的なものなのか、実用につながる可能性なのか、などほとんど理解できていません。今回のタイミングはNatureの発売日にあわせたものなので,Natureの査読に通ったことが一つのニュースなのかもしれません。Received 10 March 2013 Accepted 20 December 2013 Published online 29 January 2014とあるように研究を論文にまとめて提出したのが昨年の３月ですから、査読って随分時間がかかるんですね。



Bidirectional developmental potential in reprogrammed cells with acquired pluripotency
Haruko Obokata, Yoshiki Sasai, Hitoshi Niwa, Mitsutaka Kadota, Munazah Andrabi+ et al.
One of two papers describing a reprogramming phenomenon called stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) — in STAP, lineage-committed adult somatic cells are reprogrammed to pluripotency by transient exposure to low-pH treatment, and extensive analysis of the molecular features and developmental potential of STAP cells indicates that they represent a unique state of pluripotency.
See alsoNews & Views by Smith

2つの論文がArticleとLetterで登場しています。Articleがいわゆる論文でLetterが３ページほどの短い論文を指すようです。

NATURE | ARTICLE
Stimulus-triggered fate conversion of somatic cells into pluripotency
Haruko Obokata, Teruhiko Wakayama, Yoshiki Sasai, Koji Kojima, Martin P. Vacanti, Hitoshi Niwa, Masayuki Yamato & Charles A. Vacanti
AffiliationsContributionsCorresponding authors
Nature 505, 641–647 (30 January 2014) doi:10.1038/nature12968
Received 10 March 2013 Accepted 20 December 2013 Published online 29 January 2014

Here we report a unique cellular reprogramming phenomenon, called stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP), which requires neither nuclear transfer nor the introduction of transcription factors. In STAP, strong external stimuli such as a transient low-pH stressor reprogrammed mammalian somatic cells, resulting in the generation of pluripotent cells. Through real-time imaging of STAP cells derived from purified lymphocytes, as well as gene rearrangement analysis, we found that committed somatic cells give rise to STAP cells by reprogramming rather than selection. STAP cells showed a substantial decrease in DNA methylation in the regulatory regions of pluripotency marker genes. Blastocyst injection showed that STAP cells efficiently contribute to chimaeric embryos and to offspring via germline transmission. We also demonstrate the derivation of robustly expandable pluripotent cell lines from STAP cells. Thus, our findings indicate that epigenetic fate determination of mammalian cells can be markedly converted in a context-dependent manner by strong environmental cues.


NATURE | LETTER
Bidirectional developmental potential in reprogrammed cells with acquired pluripotency
Haruko Obokata, Yoshiki Sasai, Hitoshi Niwa, Mitsutaka Kadota, Munazah Andrabi, Nozomu Takata, Mikiko Tokoro, Yukari Terashita, Shigenobu Yonemura, Charles A. Vacanti & Teruhiko Wakayama
AffiliationsContributionsCorresponding authors
Nature 505, 676–680 (30 January 2014) doi:10.1038/nature12969
Received 10 March 2013 Accepted 20 December 2013 Published online 29 January 2014

We recently discovered an unexpected phenomenon of somatic cell reprogramming into pluripotent cells by exposure to sublethal stimuli, which we call stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP)1. This reprogramming does not require nuclear transfer2, 3 or genetic manipulation4. Here we report that reprogrammed STAP cells, unlike embryonic stem (ES) cells, can contribute to both embryonic and placental tissues, as seen in a blastocyst injection assay. Mouse STAP cells lose the ability to contribute to the placenta as well as trophoblast marker expression on converting into ES-like stem cells by treatment with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF). In contrast, when cultured with Fgf4, STAP cells give rise to proliferative stem cells with enhanced trophoblastic characteristics. Notably, unlike conventional trophoblast stem cells, the Fgf4-induced stem cells from STAP cells contribute to both embryonic and placental tissues in vivo and transform into ES-like cells when cultured with LIF-containing medium. Taken together, the developmental potential of STAP cells, shown by chimaera formation and in vitro cell conversion, indicates that they represent a unique state of pluripotency.

以下にNatureに論文が載るまでの経緯を日本語で説明したガイドです。大変そうです（汗）

Nature投稿案内

“If reproducible in humans, this could be a paradigm changer,”と仮定法で語っていますので、人間への応用などはこれからのようです。

Study Says New Method Could Be a Quicker Source of Stem Cells
By ANDREW POLLACKJAN. 29, 2014

A surprising study has found that a simple acid bath might turn cells in the body into stem cells that could one day be used for tissue repair and other medical treatments.

The technique, performed only with cells from mice, might turn out to be a quicker and easier source of multipurpose stem cells than methods now in use.

“If reproducible in humans, this could be a paradigm changer,” said Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of the biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology, who was not involved in the work.

The new technique was developed by researchers at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, and at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Two papers by the researchers were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.


Podcastでも山中先生の名前が何度も登場していました。一人の成功者が次の画期的な研究を生み出すことがあるようですね。