Use of Pluripotent Stem Cells in Glaucoma

A newer type of pluripotent stem cell, the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC), first made the news in 2006. Among the several advantages that IPSCs appear to have over ESCs, they can be made patient-specific, thereby limiting immune rejection concerns, and they are not generally subject to ethical concerns. Dermal fibroblasts can be harvested from a patient by a simple skin biopsy and then de-differentiated into iPSCs. These iPSCs can then be reprogrammed to become any cell type.