Fig. 2

Outcome of cell fusion in culture. Fusion is a natural phenomenon that can occur between cells of the same or of different types. In vitro cell fusion can be achieved through three major methods, i.e., chemicals including polyethylene glycol (PEG), inactivated viruses, and electric pulse (electrofusion). At the beginning, a cell is formed in which the nuclei do not merge (heterokaryon). This state could be transient in case both cells are from the same species which ends up in a synkaryon, or they remain separated in interspecies heterokaryons. Chromatin remodeling starts within few hours after heterokaryon formation and its combination with the genetic reprograms will define the fate of the resultant synkaryon cell up to the development of hybrid cells