Abstract: Objective To establish an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line from the skin fibroblasts of a patient with acute
lung injury (ALI-iPS). Methods We obtained iPS cells from a female ALI patient by forced expression of a cocktail of
transcription factors (Sox2, Klf4, Oct4 and Nanog) into the dermal fibroblasts to result in reprogramming to a pluripotent state.
The ALI-iPS cells generated were analyzed for colony morphology, alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity, surface antigens, and
differentiation ability. Results The ALI-iPS cells exhibited morphological and growth characteristics of ES cells, showed
positivity for alkaline phosphatase by histochemical staining, and expressed ES cell marker genes. Subcutaneous injection of
iPS cells into immunodeficient (SCID) mice resulted in tumors containing a variety of tissues from all the 3 germ layers.
Conclusion The ALI patient-specific iPS cell line was successfully established to serve as a valuable model to study the cellular
pathology of acute lung injury and develop high-throughput drug screening assays.