Dissecting gene activation and chromatin remodeling dynamics in single human cells undergoing reprogramming
Martinez-Sarmiento et al. demonstrate that, during heterokaryon reprogramming, global chromatin decondensation and loss of repressive histone modifications occur at late stages after cell fusion. Activation of OCT4 precedes global chromatin decompaction and does not require the opening of its local genomic region. Conversely, NANOG activation occurs after OCT4 activation, and the NANOG locus undergoes opening prior to its transcriptional activation.