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Updated: May 23, 2026
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Cell-cell Fusion of Genome Edited Cell Lines for Perturbation of Cellular Structure and Function
Published on: December 7, 2019
Cell Fusion in Reprogramming and Regeneration
Marta Cadevall Angles1,2, Eimear M Byrne1, Maria Pia Cosma3,4,5,6
1Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|May 21, 2026
Summary
Cell fusion, initially used for reprogramming, is now recognized as a key natural process in tissue repair and regeneration. This discovery highlights its potential for future regenerative medicine applications.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Regenerative Medicine
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Cell fusion studies began 50 years ago, initially for nuclear reprogramming research.
- Cell fusion demonstrated that differentiated somatic cells can be reprogrammed, challenging beliefs about cell fate stability.
- In vivo studies revealed natural cell fusion occurs in adult tissues, especially after injury or stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the mechanisms and tools for studying cell fusion.
- To explore the role of cell fusion in tissue regeneration across various organs.
- To address challenges and future directions for therapeutic applications of cell fusion.
Main Methods:
- Review of experimental in vitro and in vivo cell fusion studies.
- Analysis of molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling cell fusion.
- Examination of biotechnological strategies and reprogramming models.
Main Results:
- Cell fusion provides evidence for somatic cell reprogramming and rapid epigenetic changes.
- Natural cell fusion is a significant mechanism in tissue repair and regeneration.
- Evidence supports cell fusion's role in liver, muscle, nervous system, and heart regeneration.
Conclusions:
- Cell fusion is a critical, under-recognized mechanism in regenerative biology.
- Further research is needed to overcome challenges for therapeutic translation.
- Future directions involve understanding and applying cell fusion for regenerative therapies.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming
Nuclear reprogramming is a process of transforming one cell type into an unrelated cell type by epigenetic changes that alter the cell’s original gene expression pattern. Such epigenetic changes force cells to express a different set of genes, which play a significant role in inducing transformation into other cell types. Nuclear reprogramming offers applications in reproductive cloning for livestock propagation and regenerative medicine — developing patient-specific cells for injury repair.
01:14Introduction to Nuclear Reprogramming
Nuclear reprogramming is the process of switching gene expression of one cell type to that of another cell type, usually from a differentiated cell state to an undifferentiated cell state. Differentiation occurs during processes such as development and morphogenesis, tissue regeneration, and malignancy. Cells can also be artificially induced to reprogram their gene expression by techniques such as nuclear transfer, induced pluripotency, and cell fusion. Such techniques have many applications in...
01:29Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming
Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012 for this...
01:19Overview of Regeneration and Repair
Regeneration and repair processes are critical in healing damages caused by injury, disease, and aging. In regeneration, the damaged tissue is entirely replaced with new growth that restores the original architecture and function. In contrast, tissue repair usually results in a fixed tissue architecture involving scar formation. Scars generally do not reestablish tissue function and may also exhibit structural abnormalities at the injury site.
Regeneration
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Regeneration
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01:33Whole Body Regeneration
Regeneration is the process of restoring injured or lost tissues, organs, or body parts. While simpler organisms generally show greater ability to regenerate their whole body, few complex animals show similarly exceptional regeneration. For example, planarian flatworms have a unique regenerative potential making them a popular study organism among biologists to understand the mechanisms of whole body regeneration. Other organisms, such as hydra, also show extreme regeneration potential; even...
01:28Forced Transdifferentiation
Transdifferentiation, also known as lineage reprogramming, was first discovered by Selman and Kafatos in 1974 in silkmoths. They observed that the moths’ cuticle-producing cells transformed into salt-producing cells. Many such cases of natural transdifferentiation occur in organisms. In humans, pancreatic alpha cells can become beta cells. In newts, the loss of the eye’s lens causes the pigmented epithelial cells to transdifferentiate into the lens cells.
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