Methylation in embryonic stem cells in vitro.

Koichiro Nishino, Jun Ohgane, Masako Suzuki, Naka Hattori, Kunio Shiota

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Stem cells raise the possibility of regenerating failing body parts with new tissue. Before stem cells can safely fulfill their promise, many technical problems, including understanding the stem cell phenotype, must be overcome. DNA methylation, which is responsible for gene silencing and is associated with chromatin remodeling, is an epigenetic system that determines the specific characteristic of a variety of cells, including stem cells. Each cell type has a unique DNA methylation profile produced by varied loci-specific methylation. Investigation of such DNA methylation profiles provides a way of identifying pluripotent stem cells. Further, it is likely that analysis of the epigenetic status of stem cells may provide novel information regarding "sternness" within these populations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)421-445
Number of pages25
JournalMethods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
Volume329
StatePublished - 2006
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

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