Figure 2. Schematic overview for the advances in lineage differentiation.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), for studies of human disease or to create differentiated cells for regenerative medicine, can be generated from any somatic cell, from which the desired cell can be differentiated. However, current differentiation systems generate immature progeny. Recent advances in genome editing (CRISPRa/i), chemical screens, and bioengineering—extracellular matrix (ECM) functionalized hydrogels, bioprinting, and microfluidics—are being used to allow the derivation of more mature and functional PSC progeny, which resemble their in vivo counterparts better, and can be used for personalized and regenerative medicines. CRISPR, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.