Pluripotent

A pluripotent cell is one can that can develop into any type of cell that exists in the body. Pluripotent cells are thus highly desirable to treat diseases.

It was previously thought that cell development occurred only from immature to mature, such that an adult stem cell could never be pluripotent. But research by Shinya Yamanaka and John B. Gurdon proved otherwise, which opened the door to the use of adult stem cells rather than embryonic stem cells to develop cures for diseases.

## See also[edit]

* Induced pluripotent stem cells