Cyclic activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway controls cell fusion-mediated somatic cell reprogramming. TCFs belong to a family of transcription factors that, in complex with β-catenin, bind and transcriptionally regulate Wnt target genes. Here, we show that Wnt/β-catenin signaling needs to be off during the early reprogramming phases of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) into iPSCs....

Several methods allow reprogramming of differentiated somatic cells to embryonic stem cell-like cells. However, the process of reprogramming remains inefficient and the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we report the optimization of somatic cell fusion with embryonic stem cells in order to provide an efficient, quantitative assay to screen for factors that facilitate ...

BACKGROUND Strategies on the basis of doxycycline-inducible lentiviruses in mouse cells allowed the examination of mechanisms governing somatic cell reprogramming. RESULTS Using a doxycycline-inducible human reprogramming system, we identified unreported miRs enhancing reprogramming efficiency. CONCLUSION We generated a drug-inducible human reprogramming reporter system as an invaluable too...

The ground-breaking discovery of the reprogramming of somatic cells into pluripotent cells, termed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), was accomplished by delivering 4 transcription factors, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc, into fibroblasts. Since then, several efforts have attempted to unveil other factors that are directly implicated in or might enhance reprogramming. Importantly, a number of...

Pluripotent cells can be derived from different types of somatic cells by nuclear reprogramming through the ectopic expression of four transcription factors, Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. However, it is unclear whether postmitotic neurons are susceptible to direct reprogramming. Here, we show that postnatal cortical neurons, the vast majority of which are postmitotic, are amenable to epigeneti...

The induction of pluripotency from adult cells has enormous potential in regenerative medicine. While initial efforts to study mechanisms and improve efficiency of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) reprogramming focused on the direct roles of transcriptional regulators, increasing evidence indicates that cellular signal transduction pathways can modulate this process. Here, we present a medi...

Heart regeneration through in vivo cardiac reprogramming has been demonstrated as a possible regenerative strategy. While it has been reported that cardiac reprogramming in vivo is more efficient than in vitro, the influence of the extracellular microenvironment on cardiac reprogramming remains incompletely understood. This understanding is necessary to improve the efficiency of cardiac reprogr...

The role of secreted molecules in cellular reprogramming has been poorly understood. Here we identify a truncated form of ephrin receptor A7 (EPHA7) as a key regulator of reprogramming. Truncated EPHA7 is prominently upregulated and secreted during reprogramming. EPHA7 expression is directly regulated by OCT3/4. EphA7 knockdown results in marked reduction of reprogramming efficiency, and the ad...