An in vitro compartmentalisation screen for demethylases in mammals

Work with stem cells promises new and exciting applications in regenerative medicine. Somatic cells (any cell in the body other than an egg or sperm) might be taken directly from patients, and their nuclei reprogrammed to a stem cell state (that can give rise to most tissues) by introduction of some key reprogramming factors, resulting in the generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. This process is inefficient and often incomplete, however, because of inefficient epigenetic reprogramming during generation of iPS cells. It is therefore important to begin to identify 'reprogramming factors' that is molecules or enzymes that are able to revert epigenetic modifications in somatic cells to those in stem cells. Epigenetic modifications occur in the form of chemical and other modifications to DNA, which are associated with gene expression and genome function. We have developed a screen which we think will be able to identify some of the factors that are important for epigenetic reprogramming.