Epigenetics and Regeneration: an overview

Tissue regeneration represents a paradigm of stem cell function in the adult. Although stem cells have been identified in most mammalian tissues and organs, the ability of these tissues to differentiate is remarkably different and is thought to depend both on extrinsic and intrinsic mechanisms. Among the latter, epigenetic mechanisms regulate the dramatic reprogramming of stem cell function that occurs upon injury, which leads to the reactivation of otherwise silent developmental programs.