Connecting the cell cycle with cellular identity.
The remarkable ability of oocytes to reinstate the totipotent state from a unipotent somatic cell, allowing the cloning of animals and the generation of human stem cells, has fascinated scientists for decades. Due to the complexity of oocytes, it has remained challenging to understand the rapid reprogramming following nuclear transfer at a molecular level. Conversely, the detailed characterization of molecular mechanisms is also often insufficient to comprehend the functional relevance of a complex molecular process, such as the dissociation of transcription factors from chromatin during cell division, the role of chromatin modifications in cellular memory, or of cell type-specific DNA replication. This review attempts to bridge the gap between nuclear transfer and molecular biology by focusing on the role of the cell cycle in reprogramming.
1 Department of Pediatrics, Naomi Berric Diabetes Center, Columbia University , New York, NY 10032.
Gloryn
G
Chia
Dieter
D
Egli
D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle; D019070:Cell Lineage; D019976:Cloning, Organism; D004261:DNA Replication; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008540:Meiosis; D008938:Mitosis