Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-immortalized B-lymphocytes were reprogrammed using the Yamanaka Episomal vector set described by Okita et al.,53 consisting of three sets of episomal plasmids expressing reprograming factors: pCXLE-hOCT3/4-shp53, pCXLE-hSK (SOX2, KLF4) and pCXLE-hUL (L-MYC, LIN28). We reprogrammed lymphocytes from a total of six patients with BD: three were responders (SBP005, SBP007, SBP010) and three were non-responders (SBP001, SBP002, SBP004) to LiCl treatment. We also reprogrammed lymphocytes from four age- and gender-matched neurotypical individuals as controls (SBP008, SBP009, SBP011, SBP012). After reprogramming, at least three iPSC colonies were selected for further characterization. Quality control criteria for validation of iPSC lines included (a) absence of integration of episomal reprograming plasmids, presence of normal karyotype; (b) positive staining for four pluripotent markers (Sox2, Oct4, Nanog and Tra-1-81) and (c) authentication of cell lines using a comparison of a 16-loci short tandem repeat profile between the iPSC clones and the original lymphoblast line (performed by Genetica DNA Lab, Cincinnati, OH, USA). The episomal vector copy number per cell was determined by the quantitative PCR method. The Foxb15 gene served as a chromosome number control
