Epigenetic regulation in cell reprogramming revealed by genome-wide analysis

Cell reprogramming has been known to accompany cell type-specific epigenetic alterations of the genome. Chromatin structure and dynamics influenced by epigenetic factors such as covalent histone modifications, histone variants, DNA methylation, ncRNAs and chromatin remodeling play an important role in determining cell fate. The rapid progress made with the development of high-throughput technology and the systematic assessment of accumulated data has enabled the identification of previously unknown biological processes and disease states in terms of whole-genome profiles of epigenetic signatures at a high resolution. In this article, we discuss the fundamental advances and challenges over the past several years in our knowledge of chromatin state and gene transcription programs associated with epigenetic changes during cell reprogramming processes. In particular, histone modifications, DNA methylation and transcriptome analyses in genome-scale studies will be reviewed to characterize a functional cross-talk between epigenetic and transcriptional regulations in cell reprogramming.