Both land plants and metazoa have the capacity to reprogram differentiated cells to stem cells. Here we show that the moss Physcomitrella patens Cold-Shock Domain Protein 1 (PpCSP1) regulates reprogramming of differentiated leaf cells to chloronema apical stem cells and shares conserved domains with the induced pluripotent stem cell factor Lin28 in mammals. PpCSP1 accumulates in the reprogrammi...

Acquired genomic instability is one of the major concerns for the clinical use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). All reprogramming methods are accompanied by the induction of DNA damage, of which double-strand breaks are the most cytotoxic and mutagenic. Consequently, DNA repair genes seem to be relevant for accurate reprogramming to minimize the impact of such DNA damage. Here, we rev...

Rad51 is a key component of homologous recombination (HR) to repair DNA double-strand breaks and it forms Rad51 recombinase filaments of broken single-stranded DNA to promote HR. In addition to its role in DNA repair and cell cycle progression, Rad51 contributes to the reprogramming process during the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells. In light of this, we performed reprogramming exp...

Induction of pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) by defined transcription factors is the recognized canonical means for somatic reprogramming, however, it remains incompletely understood how individual transcription factors affect cell fate decisions during the reprogramming process. Here, we report induction of fibroblast reprogramming by various transcriptional factors is mediated by a miR19a/b-PTE...

Reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by overexpression of the transcription factors OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and c-Myc holds great promise for the development of personalized cell replacement therapies. In an attempt to minimize the risk of chromosomal disruption and to simplify reprogramming, several studies demonstrated that a reduced set of reprogramming factor...

Direct reprogramming of somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells entails the obliteration of somatic cell memory and the reestablishment of epigenetic events. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been created by reprogramming somatic cells through the transduction of reprogramming factors. During cell reprogramming, female somatic cells must overcome at least one more barrier than male so...

In mammalian development, epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation patterns, play a crucial role in defining cell fate but also represent epigenetic barriers that restrict developmental potential. At two points in the life cycle, DNA methylation marks are reprogrammed on a global scale, concomitant with restoration of developmental potency. DNA methylation patterns are subsequently r...

There is currently particular interest in the field of nuclear reprogramming, a process by which the identity of specialised cells may be changed, typically to an embryonic-like state. Reprogramming procedures provide insight into many mechanisms of fundamental cell biology and have several promising applications, most notably in healthcare through the development of human disease models and pa...

Nanog facilitates embryonic stem cell self-renewal and induced pluripotent stem cell generation during the final stage of reprogramming. From a genome-wide small interfering RNA screen using a Nanog-GFP reporter line, we discovered opposing effects of Snai1 and Snai2 depletion on Nanog promoter activity. We further discovered mutually repressive expression profiles and opposing functions of Sna...

During cellular reprogramming, only a small fraction of cells become induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Previous analyses of gene expression during reprogramming were based on populations of cells, impeding single-cell level identification of reprogramming events. We utilized two gene expression technologies to profile 48 genes in single cells at various stages during the reprogramming pro...