Network Analysis of Transcription Factors for Nuclear Reprogramming into Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Using Bioinformatics

OBJECTIVE Research related to induce pluripotent stem (iPS) cell generation has increased rapidly in recent years. Six transcription factors, namely OCT4, SOX2, C-MYC, KLF4, NANOG, and LIN28 have been widely used for iPS cell generation. As there is a lack of data on intra- and inter-networking among these six different transcription factors, the objective of this study is to analyze the intra- and inter-networks between them using bioinformatics. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this computational biology study, we used AminoNet, MATLAB to examine networking between the six different transcription factors. The directed network was constructed using MATLAB programming and the distance between nodes was estimated using a phylogram. The protein-protein interactions between the nuclear reprogramming factors was performed using the software STRING. RESULTS The relationship between C-MYC and NANOG was depicted using a phylogenetic tree and the sequence analysis showed OCT4, C-MYC, NANOG, and SOX2 together share a common evolutionary origin. CONCLUSION This study has shown an innovative rapid method for the analysis of intra and inter-networking among nuclear reprogramming factors. Data presented may aid researchers to understand the complex regulatory networks involving iPS cell generation.