Developing Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells as a Model to Understand Imprinted Disorders

Fetal and postnatal growth is finely regulated by genetic, epigenetic and environmental mechanisms. Parental imprinting is a regulatory mechanism that allows monoallelic expression of certain genes from a single parental allele through differential DNA methylation. Imprinted genes play a very important role in the control of fetal and postnatal growth. The pathophysiological mechanisms of these epimutations are largely unknown. Studying the consequences of these epimutations on the molecular signature of the imprinted gene network in these patients would provide a better understanding of the epigenetic mechanisms regulating fetal growth. As these genes are weakly expressed in fibroblasts, these studies will be carried out on pluripotent stem cells or IPSCs (Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells).