Comparative in silico profiling of epigenetic modifiers in human tissues

Mol Biol Rep. 2018 Jun;45(3):309-314. doi: 10.1007/s11033-018-4163-2. Epub 2018 Apr 6.

Abstract

The technology of tissue differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells has attracted attention as a useful resource for regenerative medicine, disease modeling and drug development. Recent studies have suggested various key factors and specific culture methods to improve the successful tissue differentiation and efficient generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells. Among these methods, epigenetic regulation and epigenetic signatures are regarded as an important hurdle to overcome during reprogramming and differentiation. Thus, in this study, we developed an in silico epigenetic panel and performed a comparative analysis of epigenetic modifiers in the RNA-seq results of 32 human tissues. We demonstrated that an in silico epigenetic panel can identify epigenetic modifiers in order to overcome epigenetic barriers to tissue-specific differentiation.

Keywords: Human tissue; In silico epigenetic panel; RNA-seq.

MeSH terms

  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Cell Line
  • Computer Simulation
  • DNA Methylation
  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Epigenomics / methods
  • Humans
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / physiology*
  • Organ Specificity
  • RNA / analysis
  • RNA / genetics
  • Regenerative Medicine / methods

Substances

  • RNA