Epigenetic Research in Stem Cell Bioengineering—Anti-Cancer Therapy, Regenerative and Reconstructive Medicine in Human Clinical Trials

Abstract

The epigenome denotes all the information related to gene expression that is not contained in the DNA sequence but rather results from chemical changes to histones and DNA. Epigenetic modifications act in a cooperative way towards the regulation of gene expression, working at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level, and play a key role in the determination of phenotypic variations in cells containing the same genotype. Epigenetic modifications are important considerations in relation to anti-cancer therapy and regenerative/reconstructive medicine. Moreover, a range of clinical trials have been performed, exploiting the potential of epigenetics in stem cell engineering towards application in disease treatments and diagnostics. Epigenetic studies will most likely be the basis of future cancer therapies, as epigenetic modifications play major roles in tumour formation, malignancy and metastasis. In fact, a large number of currently designed or tested clinical approaches, based on compounds regulating epigenetic pathways in various types of tumours, employ these mechanisms in stem cell bioengineering.

Epigenetic reprogramming enhances the therapeutic efficacy of osteoblast‐derived extracellular vesicles to promote human bone marrow stem cell osteogenic differentiation

“…Altering the cells’ epigenetics via post‐translational modifications has gained increasing attention in regenerative medicine (Dompe et al., 2020; Wijnen & Westendorf, 2019). Epigenetic regulation involves controlling the transcriptional activity of the genome, without altering the underlying nucleotide sequence (Collas et al., 2008; Huynh et al., 2017), therefore providing an alternative safer method of improving EVs therapeutic efficacy through parental cell modification.…”

Therapeutic Effects of Genetically Modified Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells Expressing Erythropoietin on Cancer-related Anemia in Mice Model

“…The main purpose of our investigation was to apply this biopharmaceutical approach for the EPO delivery in vivo for the treatment of CRA. In this study, we isolated MSCs from the human UCs as a good source of MSCs, because they can be harvested noninvasively in large numbers after birth with no ethical problems compared to MSCs derived from adults, have some advantages such as an improved proliferative capacity, life span, differentiation potential, and immunomodulatory properties which offer the best clinical utility (29,32,49).…”

The Role of Epigenetic in Dental and Oral Regenerative Medicine by Different Types of Dental Stem Cells: A Comprehensive Overview

“…Transient, genome-wide epigenomic remodeling has recently been shown to have regenerative capabilities in the formation of organoids and the regeneration of the liver following damage. The study of epigenetic genome modifications involves more than simply the regeneration of tissue and stem cells but also the prognosis and metastasis of multiple types of cancer, specifically relating to tumor microenvironments, immune control, tissue-level mechanical forces, and other cell-intrinsic mechanisms, including transcriptomics and metabolomics [ 12 ]. Moreover, epigenetic reprogramming processes essential for developing an embryo from a fertilized egg and establishing cellular totipotency provide clues about epigenetic mechanisms with potential for regenerative therapies [ 13 ].…”

“…Almost half of the bivalent domains in the mouse genome have been associated with connecting areas for the OCT4, NANOG, and/or SOX2 transcription factors. Conspicuously, most domains ultimately revert to H3K27 trimethylation or H3K4 trimethylation based on their lineage [ 12 ].…”