Method for maintaining pluripotency in cells
The present application describes a method for inducing or maintaining pluripotency in a cell by contacting the cell with a biological or chemical species that increases MUC1* activity.
1. A method for maintaining cell pluripotency or cell stemness, the method comprising:
contacting a cell characterized by an expression of OCT4 with an effective amount of an exogenous nucleoside diphosphate protein kinase 7 (NME7),
thereby maintaining the expression of the OCT4 in the cell.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the NME7 is a polypeptide.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell is a stem cell.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell is an undifferentiated embryonic stem cell (ESC) or a pluripotent stem cell.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell is a human cell.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said contacting comprises contacting a plurality of cells that comprises the cell.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said contacting occurs in vitro.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said contacting occurs in the absence of one or more feeder cells or an extract thereof.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said contacting occurs in the absence of a basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF).
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method stimulates or enhances the growth of the cell.
11. A method for inducing pluripotency in a cell, the method comprising:
contacting the cell with transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog, and
contacting the cell with an exogenous nucleoside diphosphate protein kinase 7 (NME7).
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the NME7 is a polypeptide.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the cell is a fibroblast.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the cell is a human cell.
15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method produces an induced pluripotent cell.
16. The method of claim 11 , wherein said contacting occurs in vitro.
17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising contacting the cell with one or more transcription factors selected from Klf4, c-Myc, and Lin28.
18. The method of claim 11 , wherein contacting the cell with transcription factors comprises introducing nucleic acids encoding said transcription factors into the cell.