[Campbell Biology P.481] What were the essential components required to successfully generat... | Practice Question

What were the essential components required to successfully generate induced pluripotent stem iPS cells from differentiated human cells, according to Shinya Yamanaka's experiment described in the text?

  • A: Human embryonic stem cells and a growth medium.
  • B: Human skin fibroblast cells, a retroviral vector, and four specific "stem cell" master regulatory genes.
  • C: Differentiated muscle cells and the Oct3/4 gene.
  • D: Any differentiated cell type and natural induction without vectors.

Explanation

Shinya Yamanaka's experiment successfully generated iPS cells by introducing four specific "stem cell" master regulatory genes Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc into human skin fibroblast cells using a retroviral vector. The text explicitly states these components.