Downregulation of Odd-Skipped Related 2, a Novel Regulator of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, Enables Efficient Somatic Cell Reprogramming.

Somatic cell reprogramming proceeds through a series of events to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The early stage of reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts is characterized by rapid cell proliferation and morphological changes, which are accompanied by downregulation of mesenchyme-associated genes. However, the functional relevance of their downregulation to reprogramming remains poorly defined.