Abstract
An electroporation device comprising an orifice sheet with regularly spaced micron size orifices for electric field constriction was developed and utilized to electropolate adherent HeLa cells constitutively expressing Fucci; a fluorescent cell-cycle reporter. Cells seeded overnight on the orifice sheet were successfully electroporated with GFP plasmid and a mixture plasmid consisting of Yamanaka factors (oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4 and cMyc), and the influence of the introduced factors on the cell cycle was examined. Preliminary results of cell cycle monitoring by time-lapse microscopy point to the possibility of cell cycle control by Yamanaka factors, as suggested by the observed attenuation of cell cycle progression following electroporation of Fucci HeLa cells with Yamanaka factors. Electroporation of GFP plasmid alone, however, did not have notable effect on cell cycle progression. Further research is underway to ascertain the connection between the observed cell cycle control and reprogramming efficiency.
