Early mouse embryo development: could epigenetics influence cell fate determination?
It is generally assumed that the developmental program of embryogenesis relies on epigenetic mechanisms. However, a mechanistic link between epigenetic marks and cell fate decisions had not been established so far. In a recent article, Torres-Padilla and colleagues show that epigenetic information and, more precisely, histone arginine methylation mediated by CARM1 could contribute to cell fate decisions in the mouse 4-cell-stage embryo. It provides the first indications that global epigenetic information influences allocation of pluripotent cells toward the first cell lineages.
Henckel
Amandine
A
Institute of Molecular Genetics, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1919 route de Mende, Montpellier 34293, France.
Tóth
Szabolcs
S
Arnaud
Philippe
P