Understanding pluripotency--how embryonic stem cells keep their options open
Molecular Human ReproductionPublished 20 August 2008
Brett V. Johnson, Norihisa Shindo, Peter D. Rathjen, Joy Rathjen, Rebecca A. Keough
Citations30
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.20
SNIP0.87
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TL;DR
Combination of controlled differentiation with ground-breaking technologies for the reversal of somatic cells to an ES cell-like state promise the generation of patient-derived pluripotent cell lines for the treatment of disease in the future.
Abstract
Embryonic stem (ES) cells have the capacity to proliferate indefinitely in culture while maintaining the ability to differentiate to form any of the cells of the body. This unique combination of functions suggests that these cells could provide a potentially unlimited source of differentiated cells for the treatment of disease and aging. Understanding the molecular processes that underpin these functions in ES cells will allow us to harness their potential and develop strategies that control their differentiation. Combination of controlled differentiation with ground-breaking technologies for the reversal of somatic cells to an ES cell-like state promise the generation of patient-derived pluripotent cell lines for the treatment of disease in the future.
Keywords
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
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Molecular and Cellular BiologyReduced Genomic Cytosine Methylation and Defective Cellular Differentiation in Embryonic Stem Cells Lacking CpG Binding Protein
98 Citations2005Diana L. Carlone, Jeong‐Heon Lee +5 more
CGBP is essential for normal epigenetic modification of the genome by cytosine methylation and for cellular differentiation, consistent with the requirement for CGBP during early mammalian development.
OncogeneApoptosis and differentiation of human embryonic stem cells induced by sustained activation of c-Myc
84 Citations2007Tomonori Sumi, Norihiro Tsuneyoshi +2 more
Activation of c-MycER in hES cells induced apoptosis and differentiation into extraembryonic endoderm and trophectoderm lineages concomitant with reduced expression of the pluripotent markers Oct4 and Nanog, suggesting an important role for the integrin/extracellular matrix interaction in the regulation of ES cell behavior.
Cell CycleA Dynamic Switch in the Replication Timing of Key Regulator Genes in Embryonic Stem Cells upon Neural Induction
82 Citations2004Pascale Perry, Stephan Sauer +8 more
The results show that loss of pluripotency (and lineage choice) is associated with extensive and predictable changes in the replication timing of key regulator genes.
Stem CellsMethods for Expansion of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
74 Citations2005Sun Kyung Oh, Hee Sun Kim +8 more
The combination of two methods allows mass production of hESCs by excluding differentiated colonies from passage by manual selection before enzyme treatment and implementing the enzymatic transfer method when the bulk production of cells is needed.
Biochemical and Biophysical Research CommunicationsCharacterization of DNA methylation change in stem cell marker genes during differentiation of human embryonic stem cells
73 Citations2007Seungeun Yeo, Sangkyun Jeong +4 more
It is proposed that the DNA methylation states of OCT4 and NANOG sequences may be utilized as barometers to determine the extent of hESC differentiation.
Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular MedicineMaintenance of embryonic stem cell pluripotency by Nanog-mediated reversal of mesoderm specification
63 Citations2006Atsushi Suzuki, Ángel Raya +7 more
It is shown that pluripotent ESCs are actively regenerated from EM progenitors by the action of the divergent homeodomain-containing protein Nanog, which, in turn, is upregulated by the combined action of leukemia inhibitory factor and the early mesoderm transcription factor T/Brachyury.
Journal of Biological ChemistrySTAT3 and Oct-3/4 Control Histone Modification through Induction of Eed in Embryonic Stem Cells
61 Citations2008Hiroki Ura, Masayuki Usuda +7 more
The results suggest that STAT3 and Oct-3/4 maintain silencing of differentiation-associated genes through up-regulation of Eed in self-renewing ES cells.
Experimental & Molecular MedicineAlterations of proliferative and differentiation potentials of human embryonic stem cells during long-term culture
55 Citations2008Yong Bin Park, Yoon Young Kim +6 more
It can be inferred that hESCs show higher proliferative abilities and reduced differentiation potentials as the passage number increased, and it is concluded that early passage h ESCs could be more suitable than middle and late passage hESC in differentiation studies.
Genes to CellsNANOG maintains self‐renewal of primate ES cells in the absence of a feeder layer
48 Citations2006Shinya YASUDA, Norihiro Tsuneyoshi +5 more
It is suggested that NANOG plays a crucial role in maintaining the pluripotent state of primate ES cells.
Journal of Cellular BiochemistrySpatio‐temporal organization of DNA replication in murine embryonic stem, primary, and immortalized cells
46 Citations2005Margaret M. Panning, David M. Gilbert
The data suggest that heritable gene silencing during commitment to specific cell lineages is not mediated by global changes in the sub‐nuclear organization and replication timing of chromosome domains.
Stem CellsDifferentiation Potential of Parthenogenetic Embryonic Stem Cells Is Improved by Nuclear Transfer
40 Citations2006Takafusa Hikichi, Sayaka Wakayama +8 more
The in vivo and in vitro differentiation potentials of NT‐pES cells were significantly (two to five times) better than the original pES cells, judged by the production of chimeric mice and by in vitro differentiate into neuronal and mesodermal cell lines.
Biochemical and Biophysical Research CommunicationsGABPα regulates Oct-3/4 expression in mouse embryonic stem cells
35 Citations2006Keita Kinoshita, Hiroki Ura +4 more
It is found that the expression level of Oct-3/4 is reduced by knockdown of GABPα, and the data suggest that GABpα upregulates the expression of Oct/4 via downregulation ofOct/4 repressors.
Reproduction Fertility and DevelopmentDevelopmental complexity of early mammalian pluripotent cell populations <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in vitro</i>
32 Citations1999T. A. Pelton, Michael D. Bettess +3 more
The properties of early embryonic pluripotent cells in vitro and in vivo are discussed, focusing on progression from inner cell mass (ICM) cells in the blastocyst to the onset of gastrulation.
Bioscience ReportsThe First Half-Century of Nuclear Transplantation
25 Citations2004J. B. Gurdon, James Byrne
The eventual identification of reprogramming molecules and mechanisms could facilitate a route toward cell replacement therapy in humans.
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