The regulation of totipotency transcription: Perspective from in vitro and in vivo totipotency

Abstract

Totipotency represents the highest developmental potency. By definition, totipotent stem cells are capable of giving rise to all embryonic and extraembryonic cell types. In mammalian embryos, totipotency occurs around the zygotic genome activation period, which is around the 2-cell stage in mouse embryo or the 4-to 8-cell stage in human embryo. Currently, with the development of in vitro totipotent-like models and the advances in small-scale genomic methods, an in-depth mechanistic understanding of the totipotency state and regulation was enabled. In this review, we explored and summarized the current views about totipotency from various angles, including genetic and epigenetic aspects. This will hopefully formulate a panoramic view of totipotency from the available research works until now. It can also help delineate the scaffold and formulate new hypotheses on totipotency for future research works.

Multi-faceted characterization of mesenchymal stem cells and their application as a powerful tool for agrobiotechnology, assisted reproductive technologies, and veterinary and regenerative biomedicine – a review

“…Stem cells include totipotent, pluripotent, multipotent and unipotent stem cells (Kangari et al, 2020). The only totipotent cells are the cells of the embryo, which can form all types of cells, including the placenta (Xu and Liang, 2022). Pluripotent stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells, display the ability to form cells from all three germ layers, excluding the placenta (Yamanaka, 2020).…”

Macrophages and stem/progenitor cells interplay in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle: a review

“…Depending on the applied criterium stem cells are divided into several categories. Based on the ability to develop into different cell types, stem cells are categorized into totipotent (can form all embryonic and adult cell lineages) (11), pluripotent (can differentiate into all cell types in an adult) (12), multipotent (give rise to multiple cell types within a given cell lineage) (13), and unipotent, (can self-renew but give rise to only one cell type) (14,15). Based on the time when stem cells form, there are two stem cell types: embryonic stem cells existing only in an early embryo, which are pluripotent and can differentiate into any cell type present in an adult, and somatic (adult) stem cells formed in fetus and persisting for whole adult life (16)(17)(18)(19).…”