Difference between revisions of "Team:Nankai/Team"

Lingyi Chen

The goal of our research is to understand the transcriptional program upon differentiation and reprogramming. A single cell, the zygote, can divide and differentiate into all types of cells in an organism. Even though the genetic information encoded in the genomic DNA is identical in the cells of the same organism, the readouts of the genetic information, namely transcriptional program, vary from cell to cell. Differential transcriptional programs lead to differential gene expression profiles, hence, different phenotypes and different cell fates. Transcription factors, epigenetic modification, microRNAs and signaling transduction pathways all contribute to the regulation of transcriptional program. We are interested in understanding the regulatory mechanisms underlying pluripotent cell differentiation, e.g. from ES cells to differentiated cells, or from the zygote to the blastocyst, and then to the cells of three germ layers. Recent studies showed that ectopic expression of few transcription factors can reverse differentiated somatic cells to an embryonic stage, namely induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). Due to their pluripotency and easy derivation without requirement for developing embryos, iPS cells hold great promise for regenerative medicine. We are eager to explore the underlying transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms of somatic cell reprogramming. Meanwhile, we are developing new methods to derive iPS cells, which are suitable for clinical application.