Nuclear Reprogramming: An Overview

Nuclear reprogramming is an intriguing phenomenon, in which specialized somatic cells reacquire pluripotency through the global resetting of epigenetic modifications without changes occurring to their nuclear DNA information. The nuclear reprogramming activity retained by unfertilized eggs and embryonic stem cells is readily observable through the techniques of nuclear transplantation and cell fusion, respectively. Furthermore, researches involving somatic stem cells have provided evidence that spontaneous cell fusion functions, at least in part, in maintaining the homeostasis of various tissues through the generation of replacement cells in vivo. Novel approaches by application of the nuclear reprogramming activity may open new avenues producing genetically matched personalized pluripotential stem cells derived from patient somatic cells.