Cellular Reprogramming and Aging

In this chapter, we will discuss how aging impacts the dynamics of stem cells and affects cellular reprogramming. We will discuss certain pathways involved in the aging process, and how we can use those pathways to increase the efficiency of the reprogramming protocol. Furthermore, we will describe two protocols to establish primary cultures of a “young” cell line (mouse embryonic fibroblasts—MEFs) and an adult/old cell line (primary cultures of adult/old mouse ear fibroblasts). These cell lines are often the primary choice to study aging in vitro.