Epigenetic memory in somatic cell nuclear transfer and induced pluripotency: evidence and implications

  • Differentiation. 2014 Jul;88(1):29-32. doi: 10.1016/j.diff.2014.09.001.
Jaber Firas  1 ,  Xiaodong Liu  1 ,  Jose M Polo  2
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
  • 2. Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 25281282 DOI: 10.1016/j.diff.2014.09.001
Abstract

Six decades ago, seminal work conducted by John Gurdon on genome conservation resulted in major advancements towards nuclear reprogramming technologies such as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), cell fusion and transcription factor mediated reprogramming. This revolutionized our views regarding cell fate conversion and development. These technologies also shed light on the role of the epigenome in cellular identity, and how the memory of the cell of origin affects the reprogrammed cell. This review will discuss recent work on epigenetic memory retained in pluripotent cells derived by SCNT and transcription factor mediated reprogramming, and the challenges attached to it.

Keywords
Cloning; Embryonic stem cells; Epigenetic memory; Induced pluripotent stem cells; Nuclear reprogramming; Somatic cell nuclear transfer.