Lecture

Cell Plasticity: Transcription Factors & Chromatin State

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In course

BIO-447: Stem cells and organoids

This course introduces the fundamentals of stem cell biology, with a particular focus on the role of stem cells during development, tissue homeostasis/regeneration and disease, and the generation of organoids from stem cells ...

Description

This lecture explores the role of pioneer transcription factors in binding heterochromatic DNA and activating cell fate choices. It discusses the bookmarking transcription factors that stay bound to mitotic chromosomes and the chromatin organization in pluripotent cells. The concept of bivalent chromatin domains in ES cells is also covered, along with the relationship between chromatin state and plasticity. The lecture presents a working model of how transcription factors and chromatin state define cell identity and transitions. Examples of transdifferentiation and direct reprogramming are provided, showcasing the conversion of one cell type into another using master transcription factors. The potential applications of reprogramming in regenerative medicine are discussed, highlighting the advantages and limitations of different approaches. The plasticity of adult stem cells and the influence of the environment on cell fate decisions are also examined.

Instructors (4)

Freddy Radtke

Freddy Radtke obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Zürich in 1994. In 1995, he started his postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Michel Aguet at Genentech, Inc. (San Francisco, USA). In 1997, he returned to Switzerland with Michel Aguet and finished his postdoctoral fellowship at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) in Lausanne. From 1999‑2005, he was a group leader and Associate Member at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Freddy Radtke then joined ISREC in January 2006 as a senior scientist and in July 2006, he was appointed Associate Professor at the EPFL School of Life Sciences

David Michael Suter

Teaching & PhD PhD Students Ekaterina Lyublinskaya, Yuliia Romaniuk, Joanna Agnieszka Dembska, Solomon Nshemereirwe Past EPFL PhD Students Onur Tidin, Aleksandra Mandic, Daniel Strebinger, Andrea Brigitta Alber, Mahé Raccaud, Torgil Elias Friman, Shoujie Sun, Silja Michelle Placzek, Romane Mizeret, Benjamin Martin, Sim Sakong, Stella Katharina Krämer Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Damien Lionel Nicolas, Isabelle Chareyron, Christopher Tadhg James Wall, Kolly Dominique Courses Immunology BI

Wouter Richard Karthaus

Teaching & PhD PhD Students Jillian Rose Love, Estelle Deby, Ester Simkova, Turan Badalli Courses Cellular and molecular biology II BIO-207 This course is aimed to familiarize students with the 3D organization of a eukaryotic cell, its compartmentalization, how cellular compartments communicate together and how a cell communicates with its environment. The related molecular mechanisms will be discussed. Practical - Karthaus Lab BIO-616 Students will learn 1) how organoids c

Matthias Lütolf

Matthias Lutolf is Full Professor at EPFL’s Institute of Bioengineering, with a cross appointment in the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering. Lutolf was trained as a Materials Engineer at ETH Zurich where he also carried out his PhD studies (with Jeffrey Hubbell) that were awarded with an ETH medal. He continued his research training as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Stem Cell Biology (with Helen Blau) at Stanford University. He has served as the Director of the Institute of Bioengineering from 2014 to 2018. Lutolf is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of stem cell bioengineering and tissue engineering. His research program uniquely combines stem cell biology with engineering principles and quantitative thinking. His team, composed of engineers, chemists, physicists, cell and developmental biologists, strives to develop technologies that have true biological and medicinal function and applicability. Lutolf’s work has led to more than 110 peer-reviewed scientific publications, many of which published in highly reputed journals, more than 25 patents, and the commercialization of several products. Current research in the Lutolf lab is focused on the bioengineering of miniature tissues, termed organoids, that are generated from self-organizing stem cells.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biological engineering

Biomedical engineering: Tissue engineering

Related concepts (32)

Induced pluripotent stem cell

Induced pluripotent stem cells (also known as iPS cells or iPSCs) are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from a somatic cell. The iPSC technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi in Kyoto, Japan, who together showed in 2006 that the introduction of four specific genes (named Myc, Oct3/4, Sox2 and Klf4), collectively known as Yamanaka factors, encoding transcription factors could convert somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells.

Adult stem cell

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek σωματικóς, meaning of the body), they can be found in juvenile, adult animals, and humans, unlike embryonic stem cells. Scientific interest in adult stem cells is centered around two main characteristics.

Induced stem cells

Induced stem cells (iSC) are stem cells derived from somatic, reproductive, pluripotent or other cell types by deliberate epigenetic reprogramming. They are classified as either totipotent (iTC), pluripotent (iPSC) or progenitor (multipotent – iMSC, also called an induced multipotent progenitor cell – iMPC) or unipotent – (iUSC) according to their developmental potential and degree of dedifferentiation. Progenitors are obtained by so-called direct reprogramming or directed differentiation and are also called induced somatic stem cells.

Transdifferentiation

Transdifferentiation, also known as lineage reprogramming, is the process in which one mature somatic cell is transformed into another mature somatic cell without undergoing an intermediate pluripotent state or progenitor cell type. It is a type of metaplasia, which includes all cell fate switches, including the interconversion of stem cells. Current uses of transdifferentiation include disease modeling and drug discovery and in the future may include gene therapy and regenerative medicine.

Stem cell

In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage. They are found in both embryonic and adult organisms, but they have slightly different properties in each. They are usually distinguished from progenitor cells, which cannot divide indefinitely, and precursor or blast cells, which are usually committed to differentiating into one cell type.

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Cell Plasticity: Transcription Factors and Chromatin State

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Stem Cell Biology: Essentials and Applications

Covers the essentials of stem cell biology, including major types, properties, and applications, as well as challenges in research.

Stem Cells and Organoids

Covers stem cells, organoids, and their applications in healthcare and engineering.

Stem Cell Applications: Models, Therapy, and Cloning

Explores the applications of embryonic stem cells in biomedical research, disease modeling, and potential therapeutic interventions, including the types of stem cells and the challenges they face.

Hematopoietic Stem Cells: Clinical Applications & Assays