Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Korea.
Department of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea.
BMB Rep. 2018 May;51(5):242-248. doi: 10.5483/bmbrep.2018.51.5.196.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) show great promise for replacing current stem cell therapies in the field of regenerative medicine. However, the original method for cellular reprogramming, involving four exogenous transcription factors, is characterized by low efficiency. Here, we focused on using epigenetic modifications to enhance the reprogramming efficiency. We hypothesized that there would be a new reprogramming factor involved in DNA demethylation, acting on the promoters of pluripotency-related genes. We screened proteins that bind to the methylated promoter of Oct4 and identified Zinc finger protein 127 (Zfp127), the functions of which have not yet been identified. We found that Zfp127 binds to the Oct4 promoter. Overexpression of Zfp127 in fibroblasts induced demethylation of the Oct4 promoter, thus enhancing Oct4 promoter activity and gene expression. These results demonstrate that Zfp127 is a novel regulator of Oct4, and may become a potent target to improve cellular reprogramming. [BMB Reports 2018; 51(5): 242-248].
诱导多能干细胞（iPSCs）在再生医学领域显示出取代当前干细胞疗法的巨大潜力。然而，涉及四个外源性转录因子的细胞重编程原始方法效率较低。在这里，我们专注于利用表观遗传修饰来提高重编程效率。我们假设在 DNA 去甲基化过程中会涉及一个新的重编程因子，该因子作用于多能性相关基因的启动子上。我们筛选了与 Oct4 启动子甲基化结合的蛋白质，鉴定出锌指蛋白 127（Zfp127），其功能尚未确定。我们发现 Zfp127 与 Oct4 启动子结合。成纤维细胞中 Zfp127 的过表达诱导 Oct4 启动子去甲基化，从而增强 Oct4 启动子活性和基因表达。这些结果表明 Zfp127 是 Oct4 的新型调节因子，可能成为改善细胞重编程的有效靶点。[BMB 报告 2018；51(5): 242-248]。
