Gene expression profile associated with the reversine-mediated transdifferentiation of NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells into osteoblasts

Abstract

Dedifferentiation of more mature cell types into multipotential cells is of interest since they have potential regenerative capacity. Reversine has the ability to induce the reversion of adult cells to a multipotent state from which they can re-differentiate into other cell types when induced by appropriate culture conditions. To evaluate the dedifferentiation caused by short-term treatment with reversine, NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells were cultured with reversine and then transferred to induction media for osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Furthermore, genome wide transcriptomic analysis was performed to observe the trends in gene expression associated with short-term reversine treatment. We found that reversine-treated fibroblast cells transdifferentiated into osteoblasts and that treatment induced some important genes including Ids, Cp, Btg2, Nrg1, Npas4, and Has2. These genes are involved in the growth and development of different organs, protein binding, transcriptional regulation, and other major functions. Our findings suggest that reversine-mediated induction of some genes or transcription factors may alter the status of differentiated cells and cause dedifferentiation. These data will provide a platform to investigate the key epigenetic factors that increase cellular plasticity and facilitate further differentiation to other cell types.