NuPotential Proprietary Technology Platform

NuPotential Proprietary Technology Platform

It is a widely held view that successful reprogramming induced by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) requires conversion of a somatic nucleus to a totipotent state.  Published reports also indicate that the majority of embryos produced by nuclear transfer are compromised, because they are unable to develop past the blastocyst or early post implantation stage.

The basis for these failures is being investigated by a number of groups, but a popular hypothesis is that inefficient reprogramming of the donor nucleus results in inappropriate expression of genes required for embryonic development. Recent evidence indicates that the proposed inefficiencies are associated with delayed processes, which result in epigenetic abnormalities.

The primary epigenetic signals that are required to be reprogrammed in SCNT embryos for developmental competence include patterns of DNA methylation, histone modification and chromatin structure. NuPotential has hypothesized that modifying the epigenome of donor cells in culture using small molecules and other treatments will improve reprogramming competence of the nucleus and the efficiency of livestock cloning.