The current perspectives of dromedary camel stem cells research

Saadeldin, Islam M.; Abdel-Aziz Swelum, Ayman; Alzahrani, Faisal A.; Alowaimer, Abdullah N.

Cells can be transformed into a pluripotent state through cocktail of defined factors such as Oct4 and Sox2 in conjunction with Myc and Klf4 or Nanog and Lin28 as reported recently. The resultant cells were termed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and this achievement was awarded Nobel Prize in 2012. The camel is a unique species with high endurance to life in desert conditions; however, little information are known about camels' early embryonic development and the genes responsible for pluripotency. iPSCs can be generated from differentiated cells by the retrovirus-mediated transfection of four transcription factors, namely Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4 [30, 31] . On the other hand, Thomson's team generated iPSCs using another cocktail of transcription factors which are Oct4, Sox2, Nanog and Lin28 [31] . Interestingly, iPSCs show a great deal of potential for stem cell therapies and clinical applications particularly for elite animals [32] , could generate patientor disease-specific stem cells, which are required for their effective biomedical applications, such as regenerative medicine [33] . Consequently, iPSCs could be used for regenerative medicine in precious genetically superior camels used for racing and beauty shows. The pioneering technology of iPSCs made reprogramming much easier than it had been with early reprogramming technologies, such as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), as well as avoided the ethical issues such as the embryo or fetus' destruction that was necessary for harvesting ESCs. Importantly, the generation of patient-specific iPSCs could be used to improve and test new drugs in vitro [34] .