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Updated: Aug 12, 2025

Repressing Gene Transcription by Redirecting Cellular Machinery with Chemical Epigenetic Modifiers
Published on: September 20, 2018
The dynamics of chromatin states mediated by epigenetic modifications during somatic cell reprogramming
Jing Peng1, Wen Jie Zhang1, Qi Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Abstract:
Somatic cell reprogramming (SCR) is the conversion of differentiated somatic cells into totipotent or pluripotent cells through a variety of methods. Somatic cell reprogramming also provides a platform to investigate the role of chromatin-based factors in establishing and maintaining totipotency or pluripotency, since high expression of totipotency- or pluripotency-related genes usually require an active chromatin state. Several studies in plants or mammals have recently shed light on the molecular mechanisms by which epigenetic modifications regulate the expression of totipotency or pluripotency genes by altering their chromatin states. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of the dynamic changes in epigenetic modifications and chromatin states during reprogramming from somatic cells to totipotent or pluripotent cells. In addition, we illustrate the potential role of DNA methylation, histone modifications, histone variants, and chromatin remodeling during somatic cell reprogramming, which will pave the way to developing reliable strategies for efficient cellular reprogramming.
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