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Activation of pluripotency genes by a nanotube‐mediated protein delivery system
Author(s) -
Cho Seong Je,
Choi Hyun Woo,
Cho Jaegeol,
Jung Suntae,
Seo Han Geuk,
Do Jeong Tae
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
molecular reproduction and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1098-2795
pISSN - 1040-452X
DOI - 10.1002/mrd.22263
Subject(s) - reprogramming , sox2 , klf4 , biology , homeobox protein nanog , microbiology and biotechnology , somatic cell , cellular differentiation , embryonic stem cell , cell , induced pluripotent stem cell , gene , biochemistry
Summary The overexpression of cell reprogramming factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, Nanog, and c‐Myc) allows differentiated cells to revertto an earlier developmental stage. Differentiated cells can also be reprogrammed by directly delivering reprogramming proteins tagged with cell‐penetrating peptides, which allow the proteins to pass through the cell membrane and into the cytoplasm–although this method has been an inefficient process. Here, we describe a novel technique for delivering reprogramming proteins into cells using titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) nanotubes, which show no cytotoxic effects and do not affect cell proliferation. TiO 2 nanotubes successfully transferred the above‐mentioned reprogramming factors into differentiated somatic cells. After 3 weeks of treatment with protein‐conjugated nanotubes, the somatic cells adopted an embryonic stem cell‐like morphology and expressed activated Oct4‐green fluorescent protein, a pluripotency biomarker. Our results indicate that TiO 2 nanotubes can be used to directly deliver reprogramming factors into somatic cells to induce pluripotency. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 80: 1000–1008, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc .