Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT or cloning) returns a differentiated cell to a totipotent status; a process termed nuclear reprogramming. Reproductive cloning has potential applications in both agriculture and biomedicine, but is limited by low efficiency. To understand the deficiencies of nuclear reprogramming, our research has focused on both candidate genes and global gene expression pat...

Studies on cell fusion-mediated nuclear reprogramming have led to the breakthrough of the induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology. While this technology has neared stem cells to applications more than any other method, the mechanistic bases of reprogramming remain largely unsolved. In this context, comparative studies of oocyte and cell fusion-mediated reprogramming hold the greatest pro...

clinical application of embryonic stem (es) cells faces difficulties regarding tissue rejection as well as ethical limitations. one solution for these issues is to reprogram somatic cells by the injection of their nucleus into an enucleated oocyte or zygote. however, technical complications and ethical considerations have impeded the therapeutic implications of this technology. an approach whic...

Treatment with several Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway regulators can change the cellular reprogramming efficiency; however, the dynamics and role of endogenous Wnt/β-catenin signaling in reprogramming remain largely unanswered. Here we identify the upregulation of WNT2 and subsequent β-catenin nuclear accumulation as key events in reprogramming. Transient nuclear accumulation of β-catenin occu...

Background: The mammalian oocyte has the unique feature of supporting fertilization and normal development while being able of reprogramming the nuclei of somatic cells towards pluripotency, and occasionally even totipotency. Whilst oocyte quality is known to decay with somatic ageing, it is not a given that different biological functions decay concurrently. In this study, we tested whether ooc...

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...