Kaiso Gene Knockout Promotes Somatic Cell Reprogramming

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D. S. Kaplun¹, R. E. Fok², V. S. Korostina³, E. B. Prokhortchouk¹, and S. V. Zhenilo^1,a*

¹Fundamentals of Biotechnology Federal Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119071 Moscow, Russia

²Israel–Canada Institute for Medical Research, Hebrew University Medical School, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel

³Abbott Laboratories LLC, Medical Department, 125171 Moscow, Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received November 9, 2018; Revised November 27, 2018; Accepted November 27, 2018

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Reprogramming of somatic cells is associated with overcoming the established epigenetic barrier. Key events in this process are changes in the DNA methylation landscape and histone modifications. Studying the factors affecting epigenetic plasticity will allow not only to reveal the principles underlying cell reprogramming but also to find possible ways to influence this process. Kaiso transcription factor is one of the protein interpreters of methylated DNA. By binding to methylated DNA, Kaiso attracts corepressor complexes affecting chromatin structure. In this work, we showed that the Kaiso gene knockout contributes to more efficient somatic reprogramming by affecting both cell proliferation and DNA methylation. The proposed mechanisms for the increase in the efficiency of somatic reprogramming associated with the Kaiso gene knockout is a decrease in the methylation level of the Oct4 promoter region in mouse embryonic fibroblasts before reprogramming.

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KEY WORDS: Kaiso, reprogramming, DNA methylation, induced pluripotent stem cells

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297919030106

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