Induced pluripotent stem cells–derived hematopoietic progenitors for cellular immunotherapies

Cellular therapies combined with genetic engineering technologies have emerged as increasingly powerful tools for immunotherapies of cancers and viral infections including HIV infection. The use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as an unlimited source of blood progenitors and terminally differentiated cells can further expand applicability of cellular immunotherapies by offering “off-the-shelf” therapeutic products to fit specific clinical needs for a broad group of patients. In this review, we discuss current advances in lymphoid and myeloid cell differentiation of iPSCs along with challenges in de novo generation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and allogeneic iPSC products for “off-the-shelf” immunotherapies.