Critical Reviews™ in Eukaryotic Gene Expression

ISSN for PRINT: 1045-4403

For Online Access

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2008, Volume18

Issue 3

93 pages

Issue price - $212.00

Kenneth J. Eilertsen
Epigenetics and Nuclear Reprogramming Laboratory, Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA

Z. Elizabeth Floyd
Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Ubiquitin Biology Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA

Jeffrey M. Gimble
Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, 3Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA

While genetic studies have provided a wealth of information about health and disease, there is a growing awareness that individual characteristics are also determined by factors other than genetic sequences. These "epigenetic" changes broadly encompass the influence of the environment on gene regulation and expression and in a more narrow sense, describe the mechanisms controlling DNA methylation, histone modification and genetic imprinting. In this review, we focus on the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate adult (somatic) stem cell differentiation, beginning with the metabolic pathways and factors regulating chromatin structure and DNA methylation and the molecular biological tools that are currently available to study these processes. The role of these epigenetic mechanisms in manipulating adult stem cells is followed by a discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing this emerging field.

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