Peripheral Blood Monocytes Can Be Induced to Acquire Stem Cell-Like Properties

Adult stem or programmable cells hold great promise in diseases in which damaged or non-functional cells need to be replaced. We have recently demonstrated that peripheral blood monocytes can be differentiated in vitro into cells whose phenotypes resemble specialized cell types like hepatocytes and pancreatic beta cells. During phenotypic conversion the monocytes downregulate monocyte/macrophage differentiation markers being indicative of partial dedifferentiation and are partially reprogrammed to acquire a state of plasticity along with expression of various markers of pluripotency. These cells were termed “programmable cells of monocytic origin” (PCMOs). Current efforts focus on establishing culture conditions that increase both the plasticity and proliferation potential of PCMOs in order to be able to generate large amounts of blood-derived cells suitable for both autologous and allogeneic therapies.