RESUMEN
Somatic cell nuclear transfer and transcription-factor-based reprogramming revert adult cells to an embryonic state, and yield pluripotent stem cells that can generate all tissues. Through different mechanisms and kinetics, these two reprogramming methods reset genomic methylation, an epigenetic modification of DNA that influences gene expression, leading us to hypothesize that the resulting pluripotent stem cells might have different properties. Here we observe that low-passage induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived by factor-based reprogramming of adult murine tissues harbour residual DNA methylation signatures characteristic of their somatic tissue of origin, which favours their differentiation along lineages related to the donor cell, while restricting alternative cell fates. Such an 'epigenetic memory' of the donor tissue could be reset by differentiation and serial reprogramming, or by treatment of iPSCs with chromatin-modifying drugs. In contrast, the differentiation and methylation of nuclear-transfer-derived pluripotent stem cells were more similar to classical embryonic stem cells than were iPSCs. Our data indicate that nuclear transfer is more effective at establishing the ground state of pluripotency than factor-based reprogramming, which can leave an epigenetic memory of the tissue of origin that may influence efforts at directed differentiation for applications in disease modelling or treatment.
Asunto(s)
Epigénesis Genética , Células Madre Pluripotentes Inducidas/citología , Células Madre Pluripotentes Inducidas/metabolismo , Animales , Diferenciación Celular/genética , Linaje de la Célula/genética , Reprogramación Celular/genética , Metilación de ADN/genética , Células Madre Embrionarias/citología , Células Madre Embrionarias/metabolismo , Genoma/genética , Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/citología , Células Madre Hematopoyéticas/metabolismo , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Endogámicos CBA , Técnicas de Transferencia Nuclear , Factores de Transcripción/genética , Factores de Transcripción/metabolismoRESUMEN
Embryonic stem cells provide an in vitro model for developmental biologists to study cell fate decisions during ontogenesis, while somatic stem cells allow physiologists to understand tissue homeostasis in the adult. The behavior of stem cells is dependent on an intimate relationship with a supportive niche. This brief review highlights some of the most important recent trends in stem cell biology, focusing in particular on the supportive microenvironments for both embryonic and adult stem cells. Known intrinsic and extrinsic molecular players from the best-characterized stem cell types are summarized, illuminating a number of shared environmental cues among tissues originating from all three embryonic germ layers.