Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 28, 2025

Epigenetic Conversion as a Safe and Simple Method to Obtain Insulin-secreting Cells from Adult Skin Fibroblasts
Published on: March 18, 2016
The role of DNA demethylation in liver to pancreas transdifferentiation
Adi Har-Zahav1,2,3, Daniela Lixandru4, David Cheishvili5,6
1Institute of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel.
Background:
Insulin producing cells generated by liver cell transdifferentiation, could serve as an attractive source for regenerative medicine. The present study assesses the relationship between DNA methylation pTFs induced liver to pancreas transdifferentiation.
Results:
The transdifferentiation process is associated with DNA demethylation, mainly at gene regulatory sites, and with increased expression of these genes. Active inhibition of DNA methylation promotes the pancreatic transcription factor-induced transdifferentiation process, supporting a causal role for DNA demethylation in this process.
Conclusions:
Transdifferentiation is associated with global DNA hypomethylation, and with increased expression of specific demethylated genes. A combination of epigenetic modulators may be used to increase chromatin accessibility of the pancreatic transcription factors, thus promoting the efficiency of the developmental process.
Related Concept Videos
Forced Transdifferentiation
Artificial...
Cell Specific Gene Expression
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
Tissue Renewal without Stem Cells
However, failure of such a system...
Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming

