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Epigenetics of Pluripotency

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Environmental Epigenomics in Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Epigenetics and Human Health ((EHH))

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Abstract

Every cell in a multicellular organism carries the same set of genetic material, but their function and differentiation potential differ greatly. Covalent modifications to DNA or the histone proteins at specific genomic regions are important for cell type-specific gene expression programs. The genomic landscape of such covalent modifications is commonly referred to as the epigenome. How is the epigenome of each cell established and maintained? In recent years, scientists have tried to answer this fundamental question by using embryonic stem cells as a unique in vitro model of cellular differentiation. This chapter reviews recent studies that demonstrate a critical role for epigenetic processes in establishing and safeguarding the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells.

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Abbreviations

BAF:

Brg1-associated factor

BS:

Bisulfite sequencing

ChIP:

Chromatin immunoprecipitation

ChIP-chip:

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by microarray analysis

ChIP-seq:

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing

ES:

Embryonic stem cells

ICM:

Inner cell mass

LIF:

Leukemia inhibitory factor

lincRNAs:

Long intergenic noncoding RNAs

MLL:

Mixed-lineage leukemia

NFR:

Nucleosome free region

RNAi:

RNA interference

RRBS:

Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Andrea Smallwood, Chloe Rivera, and Tingting Du for their critical reading and comments during preparation of this chapter. This work is funded by grants from LICR, NIH, and CIRM to BR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine and Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, HSB K236B, 357720, Seattle, WA, 98195-7720, USA

    R. David Hawkins

  2. Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0653, USA

    Bing Ren

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  1. R. David Hawkins
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Correspondence to Bing Ren .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine and Public Health, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University Avenue 1400, Madison, 53706, Wisconsin, USA

    Randy L Jirtle

  2. National Institute of Environmental Hea, NIEHS, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, 27709, North Carolina, USA

    Frederick L. Tyson

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Hawkins, R.D., Ren, B. (2013). Epigenetics of Pluripotency. In: Jirtle, R., Tyson, F. (eds) Environmental Epigenomics in Health and Disease. Epigenetics and Human Health. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23380-7_9

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