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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
14:17
Nuclear Transfer into Mouse Oocytes
Published on: November 30, 2006
Recipient cell nuclear factors are required for reprogramming by nuclear transfer.
1The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stowers Medical Institute, Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, 7 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. eggan@mcb.harvard.edu
Development (Cambridge, England)
|May 14, 2010
Summary
Nuclear transfer can reprogram somatic cells to totipotency. Reprogramming success depends on nuclear factors like Brg1 and embryonic factors, not cell cycle synchrony at transfer.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Nuclear transfer is a method for reprogramming somatic cells to a totipotent state.
- Cell cycle stage and differentiation level of donor and recipient cells are considered critical for reprogramming success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of cell cycle and developmental stages on nuclear reprogramming efficiency.
- To identify key factors and conditions influencing successful somatic cell reprogramming via nuclear transfer.
Main Methods:
- Utilized donor and recipient cells at diverse cell cycle and developmental stages for nuclear transfer experiments.
- Analyzed the retention of essential nuclear factors (e.g., Brg1) in recipient cells post-enucleation.
- Assessed the role of cell cycle synchrony between donor and recipient cells.
Main Results:
- Reprogramming is feasible across multiple cell cycle stages if essential nuclear factors (like Brg1) are maintained in the recipient cell.
- Enhanced reprogramming efficiency with embryonic donor nuclei is partly attributed to the reintroduction of embryonic nuclear factors.
- Cell cycle synchrony is not essential at the time of transfer but is required by the first mitosis.
Conclusions:
- Somatic cell reprogramming via nuclear transfer exhibits significant flexibility.
- Nuclear transcriptional regulators, such as Brg1 and embryonic factors, play a crucial role in mediating the reprogramming process.
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