Nuclear reprogramming

Abstract

There is currently particular interest in the field of nuclear reprogramming, a process by which the identity of specialised cells may be changed, typically to an embryonic-like state. Reprogramming procedures provide insight into many mechanisms of fundamental cell biology and have several promising applications, most notably in healthcare through the development of human disease models and patient-specific tissue-replacement therapies. Here, we introduce the field of nuclear reprogramming and briefly discuss six of the procedures by which reprogramming may be experimentally performed: nuclear transfer to eggs or oocytes, cell fusion, extract treatment, direct reprogramming to pluripotency and transdifferentiation. © 2013. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.