21 hours ago 2014, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

The ability to reprogram adult cells so they return to an undifferentiated, pluripotent statemuch like an embryonic stem cellis enabling the development of promising new cell therapies. Accelerating progress in this field will depend on identifying factors that promote pluripotency, such as the Brg1 protein described in a new study published in BioResearch Open Access.

In "BRG1 Is Required to Maintain Pluripotency of Murine Embryonic Stem Cells," Nishant Singhal and coauthors, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Mnster, and University of Mnster, Germany, demonstrate the critical role the Brg1 protein plays in regulating genes that are part of a network involved in maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells. This same network is the target for methods developed to reprogram adult somatic cells.

"This work further clarifies the role of the Brg1 containing BAF complex in regulating pluripotency and has important implications for all cellular reprogramming technologies," says BioResearch Open Access Editor Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Explore further: SON ensures proper splicing of proteins to keep embryonic stem cells in a state of self-renewal

More information: The article is available free on the BioResearch Open Access website.

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Original post:
Critical factor (BRG1) identified for maintaining stem cell pluripotency