Mammalian genes induce partially reprogrammed pluripotent stem cells in non-mammalian vertebrate and invertebrate species
Ricardo Antonio Rosselló,
Chun-Chun Chen,
Rui Dai,
Jason T Howard,
Ute Hochgeschwender,
Erich D Jarvis
Affiliations
Ricardo Antonio Rosselló
Department of Biochemistry, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States
Chun-Chun Chen
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States
Rui Dai
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States
Jason T Howard
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States
Ute Hochgeschwender
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States; Duke Neurotransgenic Laboratory, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States
Erich D Jarvis
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, United States
Cells are fundamental units of life, but little is known about evolution of cell states. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are once differentiated cells that have been re-programmed to an embryonic stem cell-like state, providing a powerful platform for biology and medicine. However, they have been limited to a few mammalian species. Here we found that a set of four mammalian transcription factor genes used to generate iPSCs in mouse and humans can induce a partially reprogrammed pluripotent stem cell (PRPSCs) state in vertebrate and invertebrate model organisms, in mammals, birds, fish, and fly, which span 550 million years from a common ancestor. These findings are one of the first to show cross-lineage stem cell-like induction, and to generate pluripotent-like cells for several of these species with in vivo chimeras. We suggest that the stem-cell state may be highly conserved across a wide phylogenetic range.
