title: Reprogramming of Somatic Cells Towards Pluripotency by Cell Fusion.
abstract: Pluripotent reprogramming can be dominantly induced in a somatic nucleus upon fusion with a pluripotent cell such as embryonic stem (ES) cell. Cell fusion between ES cells and somatic cells results in the formation of heterokaryons, in which the somatic nuclei begin to acquire features of the pluripotent partner. The generation of interspecies heterokaryons between mouse ES- and human somatic cells allows an experimenter to distinguish the nuclear events occurring specifically within the reprogrammed nucleus. Therefore, cell fusion provides a simple and rapid approach to look at the early nuclear events underlying pluripotent reprogramming. Here, we describe a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated cell fusion protocol to generate interspecies heterokaryons and intraspecies hybrids between ES cells and B lymphocytes or fibroblasts.
authors.affiliation: Lymphocyte Development Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.
authors.forename: Andrzej R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Malinowski
authors.affiliation: Lymphocyte Development Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK. amanda.fisher@csc.mrc.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Amanda G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002459:Cell Fusion / Q000379:methods*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming / Q000235:genetics*; D000067470:Cellular Reprogramming Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology
keywords: Cell fusion; Embryonic stem (ES) cell; Heterokaryon; Hybrid; Pluripotency; Polyethylene glycol (PEG); Reprogramming