  A quantum model on the chemically and physically induced pluripotency in stem
cells is proposed. Based on the conformational Hamiltonian and the idea of slow
variables (molecular torsions) slaving fast ones the conversion from the
differentiate state to pluripotent state is defined as the quantum transition
between conformational states. The transitional rate is calculated and an
analytical form for the rate formulas is deduced. Then the dependence of the
rate on the number of torsion angles of the gene and the magnitude of the rate
can be estimated by comparison with protein folding. The reaction equations of
the conformational change of the pluripotency genes in chemical reprogramming
are given. The characteristic time of the chemical reprogramming is calculated
and the result is consistent with experiments. The dependence of the transition
rate on physical factors such as temperature, PH value and the volume and shape
of the coherent domain is analyzed from the rate equation. It is suggested that
by decreasing the coherence degree of some pluripotency genes a more effective
approach to the physically induced pluripotency can be made.
