At What Age Should iPSC Be Produced and Banked?

 

There are currently no consensus as to what age a patient should bank a personalized iPSC.  However, there are some general guidelines based on the scientific literature.  First, the younger the target cells the better.  iPSC becomes more difficult to produce as a patient gets older.  It is extremely difficult from our experience to create a personalized iPSC in geriatric patients that is free of virus and oncogenes. Second, the target cells for iPSC reprogramming may acquire genetic defects as a patient gets older from years of smoking, obesity, diabetes or exposure to environment toxins and carcinogens.  These environmental effects may introduce genetic mutations into a patient's target cell with unknown and undesirable therapeutic effects.  

 

Cord blood or postnatal tissue represent the best target cells for producing iPSC because they are the youngest and most robust tissue to work.  Also, cord blood has not been exposed to environmental toxins or chronic illnesses that could alter the health of a target cell. 

 

The second best source of tissue is peripheral blood from young and healthy individuals.  We have found that healthy adolescents and young adults are still excellent candidates.  

 

CET does not offer personalized iPSC from individuals at age 40 and older for those that seek autologous cell therapy.