Abstract
Induced cell fusion has enabled several important discoveries, including the phenomenon of nuclear reprogramming and may yet be applied as a novel therapy for degenerative diseases. However, existing fusogens lack the efficiency required to enable investigation of the epigenetic modifications underlying nuclear reprogramming and the specificity required for clinical application. Here we present a chimeric measles hemagglutinin, Hα7, which specifically and efficiently mediates the fusion of diverse cell types with skeletal muscle both in vitro and in vivo. When compared directly to polyethylene glycol, Hα7 consistently generated a substantial increase in heterokaryon yield and exhibited insignificant levels of toxicity. Moreover, this increased fusion efficiency enabled detection of chromatin modifications associated with nuclear reprogramming following Hα7-mediated fusion of human fibroblasts and mouse myotubes. Finally, Hα7 was also capable of increasing the contribution of transplanted fibroblasts to skeletal muscle repair in vivo, suggesting that this strategy could be used for therapeutic gene delivery.
Highlights
Techniques for inducing the fusion of cells in vitro have been essential for research in a number of fields including the study of nuclear reprogramming [1], the production of monoclonal antibodies [2] and the generation of dendritic cell hybrids for cancer immunotherapy [3]
As a result of mechanisms that rely on random aggregation and membrane damage in order to achieve cell fusion, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and electrofusion protocols generally produce heterokaryons with low efficiency and high toxicity
We have created a cell fusion reagent, Ha7, which overcomes the low efficiency, high toxicity and lack of specificity exhibited by existing chemical and physical fusogens
Summary
Techniques for inducing the fusion of cells in vitro have been essential for research in a number of fields including the study of nuclear reprogramming [1], the production of monoclonal antibodies [2] and the generation of dendritic cell hybrids for cancer immunotherapy [3]. Methods that employ micromanipulation [6], affinity crosslinking [7] or microfluidic devices [8] to properly pair two cell types are capable of increasing the efficiency of fusion These systems continue to rely on the induction of membrane damage to initiate cell fusion
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