Researchers at the University of Illinois have recently discovered epigenetic changes that might be involved in endothelial cell development. Epigenetic changes are non-genetic changes that can affect the way genes expressed. One key way epigenetic changes occur is through modification of histones, proteins around which DNA is bound. The modification involved in this case was the demethylation of histones that appears to be crucial for the conversion of stem cells into endothelial cells.
This study identified two enzymes that were necessary for the regulation of certain genes needed for the transformation of embryonic stem cells into endothelial cells. These two enzymes, KDM4A and KDM4C, are histone demethylases and alter the expression of these genes with epigenetic modifications. The researchers initially observed high levels of these two demethylases in mice during the transformation from embryonic stem cells to endothelial cells, but further corroborated this finding in zebrafish, by knocking down these enzymes in embryos and observing their inability to form blood vessels.
The researchers believe that the demethylation of histones affects a number of promoters for genes involved in endothelial cell development. This study will allow researcher to gain more knowledge about this process that researchers can then use to develop endothelial cells for uses such as tissue repair.
Article summary courtesy by Waleed Khan and Sean Ihn
Article: ScienceDaily
Reference:
Liangtang Wu, Kishore K. Wary, Sergei Revskoy, Xiaopei Gao, Kitman Tsang, Yulia A. Komarova, Jalees Rehman, Asrar B. Malik. Histone Demethylases KDM4A and KDM4C Regulate Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells to Endothelial Cells. Stem Cell Reports, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2015.05.016