Researchers isolate new gene family essential for early development
A new gene family essential for embryonic development has been identified by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Writing in the August issue of Nature, the scientists describe how the gene family (UTX-JMJD3) controls the expression of genes crucial for stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent. This means that as well as being able to divide and produce more stem cells, they can also produce other, more specialised cell types. This highly controlled process, called differentiation, is still not well understood and yet this information is vital if scientists are to be able to programme stem cells in the lab to turn them into different cell types. Doing this could help scientists to model diseases, test new drugs and even treat diseases. In the study, the scientists looked at human and mouse stem cells and identified a new gene family that, by modifying gene expression, is essential for the regulation of the differentiation process. The new findings are in line with a number of recent publications that support the idea that differentiation may not entirely be a 'one-way process'. These publications instead suggest that differentiation may have an impact on the therapeutic use of stem cells for the treatment of various genetic diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's. The research was carried out by a team led by Professor Kristian Helin at the newly established Centre for Epigenetics at the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC) at the University of Copenhagen. The team worked in cooperation with researchers at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. Epigenetics is a rapidly expanding field of research within biotechnological and biomedical science. The EU-funded Epigenome Network of Excellence is another new initiative in this field, alongside the Centre for Epigenetics.
Countries
Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom