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BAVARIAN RESEARCH ASSOCIATION INTERACTION OF HUMAN BRAIN CELLS

Epigenetic stability of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC) and their derivates

Field of work:

Epigenetic changes are of fundamental significance for such a far-reaching biological process as the reprogramming of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC). Epigenetics designates molecular alterations that result in a more frequent or reduced gene transcription without changing the nucleotide code. In this subproject we investigate the role of gene methylation alterations as well as small non-coding RNAs, so called microRNAs (miRNAs). For this purpose we use modern next generation sequencing approaches that allow for a comparison of the epigenetic patterns during defined timepoints within the reprogramming process. Important questions of the analysis aim at the epigenetic stability of IPSC and neural precursor cells generated from IPSC, the epigenetic cell memory as well as at the pathogenic/cancerogenic potential of these cells. With this, we expect to gain fundamental insights into the epigenetic processes related to the reprogramming of IPSC and to identify markers that allow for successful reprogramming and differentiation. This subproject thus constitutes an important quality check that is required in the context of potential future therapeutic applications of IPSC.

Project partners: