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Chromatin Immunoprecipitation from Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Published on: July 22, 2008
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Early embryonic-like cells are induced by downregulating replication-dependent chromatin assembly
Takashi Ishiuchi1, Rocio Enriquez-Gasca2, Eiji Mizutani3
1Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS UMR7104 and INSERM U964, Illkirch, France.
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
|August 4, 2015
Summary
Scientists induced totipotent cells, resembling early embryos, by altering chromatin assembly. This breakthrough offers new insights into cellular plasticity and reprogramming totipotency.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Stem Cell Biology
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Cellular plasticity is crucial for embryonic development.
- Totipotent cells can form a complete organism, unlike pluripotent cells.
- Totipotent cells, specifically 2-cell-like (2C-like) cells, are rare in embryonic stem cell cultures and poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the possibility of inducing totipotent cells through reprogramming.
- To characterize the molecular features of induced totipotent cells.
- To explore the role of chromatin assembly in totipotency.
Main Methods:
- Downregulation of the chromatin assembly factor 1 (CAF-1) in mouse embryonic stem cells.
- Analysis of gene expression, focusing on endogenous retroviruses and 2-cell embryo-specific genes.
- Assessment of reprogrammability via nuclear transfer.
Main Results:
- Successfully induced 2C-like cells in vitro by reducing CAF-1 activity.
- Observed significant upregulation of endogenous retroviruses and 2-cell embryo-specific genes.
- Induced 2C-like cells displayed molecular signatures of 2-cell embryos and enhanced reprogrammability compared to ES cells.
Conclusions:
- Modulating chromatin assembly, specifically CAF-1 activity, can induce early embryonic-like (totipotent) cells.
- Atypical histone deposition may be a trigger for totipotent cell emergence.
- This study provides a novel method for generating and studying totipotent cells, advancing our understanding of cellular reprogramming and early development.
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