Pluripotent stem cells articles within Nature

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  • Letter |

    Reprogramming of X-chromosome inactivation during the acquisition of pluripotency is accompanied by repression of Xist, the trigger of X-inactivation, and by upregulation of its antisense counterpart, Tsix. In undifferentiated embryonic stem cells (ESCs), key transcription factors that support pluripotency repress Xist transcription. These authors show that upregulation of Tsix in ESCs depends on a different subset of pluripotency factors. Therefore, two distinct ESC-specific complexes couple reprogramming of X-inactivation to pluripotency.

    • Pablo Navarro
    • , Andrew Oldfield
    •  & Philip Avner

  • Letter |

    Realizing the full potential of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in research and clinical applications requires a detailed understanding of the genetic network that governs their unique properties. A genome-wide RNA interference screen identifies a wealth of new regulators of self-renewal and pluripotency properties in hESCs. The transcription factor PRDM14, for example, is required for the maintenance of hESC identity and reprogramming of somatic cells to pluripotency.

    • Na-Yu Chia
    • , Yun-Shen Chan
    •  & Huck-Hui Ng

  • Brief Communications Arising |

    • Sanjay K. Singh
    • , Mohamedi N. Kagalwala
    •  & Sadhan Majumder

  • Article |

    Pluripotent stem cells can be generated in the laboratory through somatic cell nuclear transfer (generating nuclear transfer embryonic stem cells, ntESCs) or transcription-factor-based reprogramming (producing induced pluripotent stem cells, iPSCs). These methods reset the methylation signature of the genome — but to what extent? Here it is found that mouse iPSCs 'remember' the methylation status of their tissue of origin, but the methylation of ntESCs is more similar to that of naturally produced ES cells.

    • K. Kim
    • , A. Doi
    •  & G. Q. Daley

  • Letter |

    The generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients with defined genetic disorders promises to help the basic understanding of complex diseases and the development of therapeutics. Here iPSCs have been generated from patients with LEOPARD syndrome, a developmental disorder with pleiomorphic effects on several tissues and organs. The iPSCs are characterized and the phenotype of cardiomyocytes derived from these cells is investigated.

    • Xonia Carvajal-Vergara
    • , Ana Sevilla
    •  & Ihor R. Lemischka

  • Article |

    Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are generated by the enforced expression of particular transcription factors in somatic cells. The extent to which such cells are equivalent to embryonic stem (ES) cells is an open question. Here, genetically identical mouse ES cells and iPSCs have been compared; the overall expression patterns of messenger RNAs and microRNAs are the same, with the exception of a few transcripts encoded within an imprinted gene cluster on chromosome 12qF1.

    • Matthias Stadtfeld
    • , Effie Apostolou
    •  & Konrad Hochedlinger

  • Letter |

    Here, iPS cell technology is used to study the mechanisms underlying dyskeratosis congenita in humans. Reprogramming restores telomere elongation in dyskeratosis congenita cells despite genetic lesions affecting telomerase. The reprogrammed cells were able to overcome a critical limitation in telomerase RNA component (TERC) levels to restore telomere maintenance and self-renewal, and multiple telomerase components are targeted by pluripotency-associated transcription factors.

    • Suneet Agarwal
    • , Yuin-Han Loh
    •  & George Q. Daley

  • Letter |

    The transcription factor Tbx3 is shown to significantly improve the quality of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Tbx3 binding sites in embryonic stem cells are present in genes involved in pluripotency and reprogramming factors. Furthermore, there are intrinsic qualitative differences in iPS cells generated by different methods in terms of their pluripotency, thus highlighting the need to rigorously characterize iPS cells beyond in vitro studies.

    • Jianyong Han
    • , Ping Yuan
    •  & Bing Lim

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