During cellular reprogramming, a cell is induced to change its identity and function, using tools and methods that don't naturally occur in the context of and organism during its development and growth. The field of cellular reprogramming started in 1962 when John Gurdon demonstrated for the first time that cells could indeed be forced to move from more to less differentiated. Since then, the field has grown exponentially, contributing to the understanding of development, cell specification, and aging, to name a few. More importantly, cellular reprogramming is now taken into account when design new therapies for human and animal diseases.

在細胞重編程過程中，細胞被誘導(dǎo)改變其特性和功能，使用的工具和方法在細胞發(fā)育和生長過程中不會自然地發(fā)生在生物體的環(huán)境中。細胞重編程領(lǐng)域始于1962年，當(dāng)時約翰?戈登(John Gurdon)首次證明，細胞確實可以被迫從分化程度較高的細胞轉(zhuǎn)向分化程度較低的細胞。從那時起，這一領(lǐng)域呈指數(shù)級增長，有助于理解發(fā)育、細胞規(guī)格和衰老等。更重要的是，在設(shè)計治療人類和動物疾病的新療法時，細胞重新編程現(xiàn)在也被考慮在內(nèi)。