@ARTICLE{10.3389/fcell.2019.00128, AUTHOR={Lee Chong, Taylor and Ahearn, Emily L. and Cimmino, Luisa}, TITLE={Reprogramming the Epigenome With Vitamin C}, JOURNAL={Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology}, VOLUME={7}, YEAR={2019}, URL={https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.00128}, DOI={10.3389/fcell.2019.00128}, ISSN={2296-634X}, ABSTRACT={The erasure of epigenetic modifications across the genome of somatic cells is an essential requirement during their reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Vitamin C plays a pivotal role in remodeling the epigenome by enhancing the activity of Jumonji-C domain-containing histone demethylases (JHDMs) and the ten-eleven translocation (TET) proteins. By maintaining differentiation plasticity in culture, vitamin C also improves the quality of tissue specific stem cells derived from iPSCs that are highly sought after for use in regenerative medicine. The ability of vitamin C to potentiate the activity of histone and DNA demethylating enzymes also has clinical application in the treatment of cancer. Vitamin C deficiency has been widely reported in cancer patients and has recently been shown to accelerate cancer progression in disease models. Therapies involving high-dose vitamin C administration are currently gaining traction in the treatment of epigenetic dysregulation, by targeting aberrant histone and DNA methylation patterns associated with cancer progression.} }