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Helmholtz Munich | Emily Steed & Amelie J. Kraus

Maintaining and Reprogramming Cell Fates

Hörmanseder Lab

About our Research

We combine somatic cell nuclear transfer to Xenopus eggs with innovative multi-omics to study how a cell can remember its identity in order to erase its memory.

 

In mammals, epigenetic reprogramming, the acquisition and loss of totipotency, and the first cell fate decision all occur within a three-day window after fertilization of the oocyte by the sperm. Molecularly, these processes are poorly understood, yet this knowledge is an essential prerequisite to uncover principles of stem cells, chromatin biology, and thus regenerative medicine.

During development, the totipotent zygote undergoes multiple rounds of cell division and differentiation. The arising daughter cells commit more and more to a certain cell lineage losing cellular plasticity until they reach their final cell fates, e.g. becoming a skin cell. Each differentiation step is accompanied by specific changes in gene expression to establish a stable cell state — a ‘memory’ of cell fate is acquired. This cell-fate memory is highly protected and cannot be easily changed in nature. However, in the petri dish, vertebrate eggs have the remarkable ability to reprogram cell fates when the nucleus of a somatic cell is transferred to an enucleated egg. The so-generated nuclear transfer embryo can erase the cellular memory of the previous cell identity, allowing the establishment of totipotency, and can so give rise to all cell types of the body. That has a fundamental impact on regenerative medicine.
We aim to unravel the epigenetic mechanisms that stabilize differentiated cell fates and inhibit the reprogramming of cell fates in order to achieve a fast, efficient, and complete switch in cell fate directly or within a few cell cycles.

One of the most fascinating aspects of life is that the fertilized egg (zygote) can form a full new organism. In animals, development starts with the fertilization of the oocyte by the sperm, two highly differentiated cells. The resulting cell, the zygote can form a full new organism by itself. We call this capacity ‘totipotency’ which is the highest degree of cellular plasticity. Totipotency occurs naturally for a short time window at the onset of vertebrate development. The generation of totipotent cells in the laboratory holds enormous promises for regenerative medicine since it would enable replacing ‘sick’ cells with ‘healthy’ cells. Thus, to fulfill this need, it is of paramount importance to understand how totipotency is established and maintained. 

Vertebrate eggs have the remarkable ability to reprogram cell fates upon somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) resulting in a totipotent nuclear transfer embryo. We use this system to study the molecular processes during reprogramming to totipotency.

 

During somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), the nucleus of a somatic cell (donor) gets transferred into an enucleated egg. The resulting nuclear transfer embryo is able to erase the memory of the somatic cell identity. This allows the establishment of totipotency in the laboratory.

The reprogramming efficiency of SCNT is very low since some donors are resistant to reprogramming. Previously, we could show that the cellular memory of resistant donors is stabilized by a specific epigenetic mark, the prominent histone modification H3K4 methylation. We investigate whether histone modifications, in particular H3K4 methylation, can act as epigenetic barriers for reprogramming. We aim to find approaches that allow us to manipulate or circumvent these barriers. Our work will provide fundamental insights into how reprogramming efficiencies can be improved and will promote the progress of the techniques, that allow the generation of totipotent cells in a petri dish.

During development, the totipotent zygote undergoes multiple rounds of cell division and differentiation. The arising daughter cells commit more and more to a certain cell lineage losing cellular plasticity until they reach their final cell fates, e.g. becoming a skin cell. Each differentiation step is accompanied by specific changes in gene expression to establish a stable cell state — a ‘memory’ of cell fate is acquired. This cell-fate memory is highly protected and cannot be easily changed in nature. However, in the petri dish, vertebrate eggs have the remarkable ability to reprogram cell fates when the nucleus of a somatic cell is transferred to an enucleated egg. The so-generated nuclear transfer embryo can erase the cellular memory of the previous cell identity, allowing the establishment of totipotency, and can so give rise to all cell types of the body. That has a fundamental impact on regenerative medicine.
We aim to unravel the epigenetic mechanisms that stabilize differentiated cell fates and inhibit the reprogramming of cell fates in order to achieve a fast, efficient, and complete switch in cell fate directly or within a few cell cycles.

One of the most fascinating aspects of life is that the fertilized egg (zygote) can form a full new organism. In animals, development starts with the fertilization of the oocyte by the sperm, two highly differentiated cells. The resulting cell, the zygote can form a full new organism by itself. We call this capacity ‘totipotency’ which is the highest degree of cellular plasticity. Totipotency occurs naturally for a short time window at the onset of vertebrate development. The generation of totipotent cells in the laboratory holds enormous promises for regenerative medicine since it would enable replacing ‘sick’ cells with ‘healthy’ cells. Thus, to fulfill this need, it is of paramount importance to understand how totipotency is established and maintained. 

Vertebrate eggs have the remarkable ability to reprogram cell fates upon somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) resulting in a totipotent nuclear transfer embryo. We use this system to study the molecular processes during reprogramming to totipotency.

 

During somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), the nucleus of a somatic cell (donor) gets transferred into an enucleated egg. The resulting nuclear transfer embryo is able to erase the memory of the somatic cell identity. This allows the establishment of totipotency in the laboratory.

The reprogramming efficiency of SCNT is very low since some donors are resistant to reprogramming. Previously, we could show that the cellular memory of resistant donors is stabilized by a specific epigenetic mark, the prominent histone modification H3K4 methylation. We investigate whether histone modifications, in particular H3K4 methylation, can act as epigenetic barriers for reprogramming. We aim to find approaches that allow us to manipulate or circumvent these barriers. Our work will provide fundamental insights into how reprogramming efficiencies can be improved and will promote the progress of the techniques, that allow the generation of totipotent cells in a petri dish.

The Hörmanseder Lab

Marco Stock

Doctoral Researcher

After completing his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and gaining working experience as an engineer, Marco obtained his Master's degree in practical computer science with a focus on machine learning. He then joined the IES as a PhD student in December 2020. He is working as a computational biologist in the Hoermanseder lab, with a special interest in gene regulatory networks.
 

Portrait Meghana Oak

Meghana Oak

Doctoral Researcher

Meghana obtained her undergraduate and Master’s degrees at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata. She did her Master’s thesis in Prof. Sanjeev Galande’s lab in IISER Pune, where she worked on the role of the chromatin organizer Satb2 in neural crest development. Intrigued by developmental epigenetics, she joined the IES as a PhD student in November, 2020. She is now exploring the maintenance of active chromatin marks during early embryonic development in Dr. Eva Hörmanseder’s lab.

Portrait Ana Janeva

Ana Janeva

Doctoral Researcher

Ana moved to Germany for her undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at the University of Heidelberg with the support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She worked at the EMBL Genome Biology Unit for her master's thesis, investigating the epigenetic mechanisms involved in neuronal differentiation. She joined the Hörmanseder lab as a PhD student in November 2021, tackling the epigenetic barriers to cell fate reprogramming. 

Nationality: Macedonian

Matthias Mezes

Research assistant

Portrait Thomas Gerling

Thomas Gerling

Administrative Assistant

After several years of working in procurement, customer support and as an administrative assistant, Thomas started a new career as a team assistant to the IRM-MED at Helmholtz Munich in 2019. Since February 2020 he is assisting at the IFE, and since October 2023 at the IES.

Publications

Recent publications - Preprints

  1. Tomas Zikmund, Jonathan Fiorentino, Christopher, Andrew Penfold, Marco Stock, Gaurav Agarwal, Larissa Langfeld, Stephan Hamperl, Antonio Scialdone, Eva Hoermanseder. Somatic cell identity affects specific cell differentiation programs upon reprogramming In Vivo. bioRxiv. July 2024.
  2. Jelle van den Ameele, Manuel Trauner, Eva Hörmanseder, Alex P. A. Donovan, Oriol Llora Battle, Seth W. Cheetham, Robert Krautz, Rebecca Yakob, John B. Gurdon, Andrea H. Brand. Targeted DamID detects cell-type specific histone modifications in vivo. bioRxiv. July 2024.

Published

  1. Oak, M. S., & Hörmanseder, E.Using Xenopus to Understand Pluripotency and to Reprogram Cells for Therapeutic Use. Xenopus: From Basic Biology to Disease Models in the Genomic Era. Review. Taylor & Francis, 2022.

  2. Hörmanseder E. Epigenetic memory in reprogramming. Review. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2021 
  3. Oikawa M, Simeone A, Hormanseder E, Teperek M, Gaggioli V, O'Doherty A, Falk E, Sporniak M, D'Santos C, Franklin VNR, Kishore K, Bradshaw CR, Keane D, Freour T, David L, Grzybowski AT, Ruthenburg AJ, Gurdon J, Jullien J. Epigenetic homogeneity in histone methylation underlies sperm programming for embryonic transcription. Nat Commun. 2020.
  4. Hörmanseder E, Simeone A, Allen GE, Bradshaw CR, Figlmüller M, Gurdon J, Jullien J. H3K4 Methylation-Dependent Memory of Somatic Cell Identity Inhibits Reprogramming and Development of Nuclear Transfer Embryos. Cell Stem Cell. 2017.
  5. Lavagnolli T, Gupta P, Hörmanseder E, Mira-Bontenbal H, Dharmalingam G, Carroll T, Gurdon JB, Fisher AG, Merkenschlager M. Initiation and maintenance of pluripotency gene expression in the absence of cohesin. Genes Dev. 2015.
  6. Hörmanseder E, Tischer T, Mayer TU. Modulation of cell cycle control during oocyte-to-embryo transitions. EMBO J. 2013.
  7. Tischer T, Hörmanseder E, Mayer TU. The APC/C inhibitor XErp1/Emi2 is essential for Xenopus early embryonic divisions. Science. 2012.
  8. Hörmanseder E, Tischer T, Heubes S, Stemmann O, Mayer TU. Non-proteolytic ubiquitylation counteracts the APC/C-inhibitory function of XErp1. EMBO Rep. 2011.

Contact

Portrait Thomas Gerling

Thomas Gerling

Administrative Assistant