By: Charlotte Barker and Emily Culme-Seymour, Ph.D.

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have continued to generate excitement, with new sources and methods of derivation being developed every month (see Regenerative Medicine Special Focus Issue, “Cellular reprogramming and iPS cells” [www.futuremedicine.com/toc/rme/5/4], for a range of articles exploring the potential of iPS cells).

In September 2009, researchers found that cells in the leftover fat from liposuction procedures could be used to derive iPS cells more efficiently than skin cells.1 Researchers from Stanford University (CA, USA) have successfully derived iPS cells from adipose stem cells found in fat extracted during liposuction, and have found these cells to be more quickly and easily reprogrammed than the skin cells used to derive most iPS cell lines to date. “We’ve identified a great natural resource,” enthused coauthor, Michael Longaker, who went on to call the byproducts of liposuction “liquid gold.”