Cell fate conversion by mRNA

CD123bright plasmacytoid predendritic cells: progenitors undergoing cell fate conversion?

CD123(bright) plasmacytoid cells (PC) and CD1c(+) peripheral blood myeloid dendritic cells (DC) are two human DC precursors that can be expanded in vivo by Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (FL). It has been proposed that PC and myeloid CD1c(+) DC may represent two distinct lineages of DC. However, the phylogenetic affiliation of PC and its relationship with myeloid DC remain controversial. Her...

Plasmacytoid Predendritic Cells: Progenitors Undergoing Cell Fate Conversion?

Sm proteins specify germ cell fate by facilitating oskar mRNA localization.

Sm and Sm-like proteins are RNA-binding factors found in all three domains of life. Eukaryotic Sm proteins play essential roles in pre-mRNA splicing, forming the cores of spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs). Recently, Sm proteins have been implicated in the specification of germ cells. However, a mechanistic understanding of their involvement in germline specification is lack...

Determination of mRNA fate by different RNA polymerase II promoters.

Translational stop mutations of the human beta-globin gene cause a reduction of cytoplasmic mRNA accumulation in thalassemia patients and in transfection models. The exact mechanism underlying this phenomenon has remained enigmatic but is known to be post-transcriptional. We have used transfected HeLa cells to study the expression of beta-globin mRNAs with nonsense or frameshift mutations withi...

Dissecting Engineered Cell Types and Enhancing Cell Fate Conversion via CellNet

Engineering clinically relevant cells in vitro holds promise for regenerative medicine, but most protocols fail to faithfully recapitulate target cell properties. To address this, we developed CellNet, a network biology platform that determines whether engineered cells are equivalent to their target tissues, diagnoses aberrant gene regulatory networks, and prioritizes candidate transcriptional ...