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Biomedicines
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Pluripotent Stem Cells: Current Understanding and Future Directions—2nd Edition
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Pluripotent Stem Cells: Current Understanding and Future Directions—2nd Edition

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell Biology and Pathology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2026) | Viewed by 4623

Editor

Dr. Aline Yen Ling Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Interests: induced pluripotent stem cells; mesenchymal stem cells; transplant immunology; autoimmunity; peripheral nerve regeneration; vascularized composite allotransplantation; cell therapy; exosome therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Pluripotent Stem Cells: Current Understanding and Future Directions—2nd Edition”, will focus on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and potential therapeutic applications for their derivatives.

Induced pluripotent stem cells can be generated by reprogramming somatic cells using the delivery of exogenous pluripotent factors such as Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, and Klf4. The delivery methods for pluripotent transgenes include genomic integrated strategies, such as lentivirus or retrovirus transduction, and non-genomic integrated strategies, such as episomal plasmid transfection, adenovirus transduction, mRNA transfection, or Sendai virus transduction. The overexpression of these pluripotent factors makes somatic cells undergo transformation into pluripotent stem cells through the obtainment of a round morphology, multilineage differentiation abilities, and self-renewal properties. Therefore, iPSCs are similar to embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in that they possess similar regenerative abilities and can differentiate into any cell type in the body, whereas iPSC generation does not face the ethical controversies related to ESC sources. The therapeutic applications of autologous iPSCs hold great promise in tissue engineering and regenerative and personalized medicine. iPSC-differentiated cells may have the potential to be applied to disease cures or the screening of new drugs. Moreover, allogeneic iPSC-derived exosomes (iPSCs-Exos) act as a form of cell-free therapy and may have broad application prospects in disease treatments.

We invite authors in this field to submit original research or review articles related to the important and rapidly progressing field of iPSC-associated medicine.

Dr. Aline Yen Ling Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • induced pluripotent stem cells
  • iPSC generation
  • somatic reprogramming
  • iPSC-derived cells
  • cell therapy
  • exosome therapy
  • therapeutic application
  • drug screening

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

16 pages, 4234 KB  
Review
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Corneal Regeneration: Biological Progress, Translational Barriers and Clinical Outlook
by Tareq S. Al-amarat and Jodhbir S. Mehta
Biomedicines 2026, 14(6), 1323; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines14061323 - 11 Jun 2026
Viewed by 401
Abstract
Corneal blindness remains a major cause of visual impairment worldwide and may result from trauma, infectious keratitis, degenerative disorders, endothelial dysfunction, and limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). Although corneal transplantation remains the standard treatment for advanced disease, its effectiveness is limited by donor [...] Read more.
Corneal blindness remains a major cause of visual impairment worldwide and may result from trauma, infectious keratitis, degenerative disorders, endothelial dysfunction, and limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). Although corneal transplantation remains the standard treatment for advanced disease, its effectiveness is limited by donor tissue shortage, immune-mediated rejection, postoperative complications, and progressive graft failure. These limitations have accelerated interest in regenerative approaches aimed at restoring native corneal structure and function. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have emerged as a promising platform for corneal regeneration because of their pluripotency, self-renewal capacity, and potential for autologous or immune-compatible therapy. Recent advances in differentiation protocols have enabled the generation of corneal epithelial-like cells, stromal keratocyte-like cells, and corneal endothelial-like cells from iPSCs. Preclinical studies have demonstrated encouraging improvements in corneal transparency, epithelial restoration, fibrosis reduction, and endothelial function, while early clinical investigations, particularly in LSCD, have reported favorable short-term safety and functional outcomes. However, major translational barriers remain, including tumorigenicity, immunogenicity, genomic instability, manufacturing complexity, scalability, and long-term safety concerns. Stromal regeneration also remains comparatively underdeveloped relative to epithelial and endothelial applications. This review summarizes current differentiation strategies, biological mechanisms, preclinical and early clinical evidence, and the principal translational challenges associated with iPSC-based corneal regeneration. Overall, iPSC-derived corneal therapies demonstrate considerable regenerative potential, although further standardization, long-term safety evaluation, and multicenter clinical validation remain necessary before widespread clinical adoption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pluripotent Stem Cells: Current Understanding and Future Directions—2nd Edition)
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29 pages, 1743 KB  
Review
Roots of Progress: Uncovering Cerebellar Ataxias Using iPSC Models
by Michela Giacich, Valentina Naef, Filippo Maria Santorelli and Devid Damiani
Biomedicines 2025, 13(9), 2121; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13092121 - 30 Aug 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2883
Abstract
The inaccessibility of human cerebellar tissue and the complexity of its development have historically hindered the study of cerebellar ataxias, a genetically diverse group of neurodegenerative disorders. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology offers a powerful solution, enabling the generation of patient-specific cerebellar [...] Read more.
The inaccessibility of human cerebellar tissue and the complexity of its development have historically hindered the study of cerebellar ataxias, a genetically diverse group of neurodegenerative disorders. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology offers a powerful solution, enabling the generation of patient-specific cerebellar models that retain individual genetic backgrounds. This review examines recent progress in iPSC-derived cerebellar models and their application in relation to major hereditary ataxias, including Friedreich’s ataxia, ataxia–telangiectasia, and spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). These models have provided valuable insights into disease mechanisms and supported the development of therapeutic strategies, such as gene therapy and high-throughput drug screening. However, challenges remain, particularly in achieving the full maturation of cerebellar cell types and incorporating microglial interactions. Moreover, emerging evidence suggests that neurodevelopmental alterations may act as early contributors to degeneration. Despite the current limitations, the advancement of patient-derived iPSC cerebellar models holds great promise for uncovering novel disease pathways and for driving precision medicine approaches in cerebellar ataxia research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pluripotent Stem Cells: Current Understanding and Future Directions—2nd Edition)
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