Generation of higher-quality iPS cells

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K19429
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cardiovascular medicine
• Research Institution: Kyoto University (2017); Keio University (2016)
• Principal Investigator: Kunitomi Akira 京都大学, iPS細胞研究所, 特定研究員 (30570882)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: iPS細胞 / リンカーヒストンH1

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are a hallmark of ideal pluripotent stem cells. Epigenetic reprogramming of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has not been fully accomplished. iPSC generation is similar to somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in oocytes, and this procedure can be used to generate ESCs (SCNT-ESCs), which suggests the contribution of oocyte-specific constituents.
Here we show that the mammalian oocyte-specific linker histone H1foo has beneficial effects on iPSC generation. Induction of H1foo with Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4 significantly enhanced the efficiency of iPSC generation. H1foo promoted in vitro differentiation characteristics with low heterogeneity in iPSCs. H1foo enhanced the generation of germline competent chimeric mice from iPSCs in a manner similar to that for ESCs. Furthermore, human H1FOO promoted the efficiency of human iPSC generation. These findings indicate that H1foo contributes to the generation of higher-quality iPSCs.

Free Research Field

幹細胞医学