Unraveling The Epigenetic Landscape Of The Reprogramming Roadmap At Single Cell Resolution
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are derived through the process of reprogramming from human somatic cells, have the potential to differentiate into any cell type of the body. iPSCs can be cultured in a naive state that resembles the preimplantation epiblast, or a primed state that resembles the post-implantation epiblast. In a recent study from our laboratory, naive and primed iPSCs were derived by reprogramming of human dermal fibroblasts through the use of different media. However, the underlying epigenetic mechanisms behind these conversions remain largely unknown. In this study, we have profiled the reprogramming epigenetic dynamics of these cells at high resolution using single cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing. Our data identified various differential chromatin accessible regions across all of the cell states during reprogramming of fibroblasts into naive and primed iPSCs, as well as the cells refractory to the reprogramming process. Furthermore, we have jointly assessed the epigenetic landscape and gene expression of the reprogramming trajectory at single cell resolution revealing epigenetic specific information in cell fate commitment. Our extensive characterisation provides novel insight into the reprogramming roadmap of somatic cells into iPSCs.