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ATR expands embryonic stem cell fate potential in response to replication stress.

ABSTRACT: Unrepaired DNA damage during embryonic development can be potentially inherited by a large population of cells. However, the quality control mechanisms that minimize the contribution of damaged cells to developing embryos remain poorly understood. Here, we uncovered an ATR- and CHK1-mediated transcriptional response to replication stress (RS) in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that induces genes expressed in totipotent two-cell (2C) stage embryos and 2C-like cells. This response is mediated by Dux, a multicopy retrogene defining the cleavage-specific transcriptional program in placental mammals. In response to RS, DUX triggers the transcription of 2C-like markers such as murine endogenous retrovirus-like elements (MERVL) and Zscan4. This response can also be elicited by ETAA1-mediated ATR activation in the absence of RS. ATR-mediated activation of DUX requires GRSF1-dependent post-transcriptional regulation of Dux mRNA. Strikingly, activation of ATR expands ESCs fate potential by extending their contribution to both embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues. These findings define a novel ATR dependent pathway involved in maintaining genome stability in developing embryos by controlling ESCs fate in response to RS.

SUBMITTER: Atashpaz S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7067586 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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ATR expands embryonic stem cell fate potential in response to replication stress.

Atashpaz Sina S Samadi Shams Sara S Gonzalez Javier Martin JM Sebestyén Endre E Arghavanifard Negar N Gnocchi Andrea A Albers Eliene E Minardi Simone S Faga Giovanni G Soffientini Paolo P Allievi Elisa E Cancila Valeria V Bachi Angela A Fernández-Capetillo Óscar Ó Tripodo Claudio C Ferrari Francesco F López-Contreras Andrés Joaquin AJ Costanzo Vincenzo V

eLife 20200312

Unrepaired DNA damage during embryonic development can be potentially inherited by a large population of cells. However, the quality control mechanisms that minimize the contribution of damaged cells to developing embryos remain poorly understood. Here, we uncovered an ATR- and CHK1-mediated transcriptional response to replication stress (RS) in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that induces genes expressed in totipotent two-cell (2C) stage embryos and 2C-like cells. This response is mediated by ...[more]

PMID: 32163370

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Project description:Mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) exhibit a pluripotent developmental potential, contributing to all embryonic cell types, though rarely to extra-embryonic lineages. Unexpectedly, rare, totipotent-like stem cells have been identified in cultured ESC populations, suggesting the existence of a discrete molecular pathway that regulates the transition between totipotency and pluripotency in vitro. Here, we identify a single miRNA, miR-34a, whose deficiency in mouse pluripotent stem cells expands cell fate potential, giving rise to both embryonic and extra-embryonic lineages in vitro and in vivo. The expression profiles of the totipotent-like miR-34a-knockout murine pluripotent stem cells are characterized by a strong induction of MERVL endogenous retroviruses, a key molecular hallmark shared with totipotent mouse 2-cell blastomeres and totipotent-like mouse ESCs. In all three cell types, a subset of MERVL elements promotes the expression of specific isoforms of the proximal protein-coding genes. We demonstrate that miR-34a represses MERVL expression through transcriptional regulation, at least in part, by directly targeting the transcription factor GATA-binding protein 2 (Gata2). Since MERVL activation correlated precisely with the totipotent-like state, we hypothesized that the miR-34a/Gata2 pathway that regulates MERVL expression in ESCs/iPSCs also regulates the acquisition of totipotency in culture. Consistent with this hypothesis, gata2 knock-down in miR-34a-knockout mouse pluripotent stem cells not only reduced MERVL expression, but also abolished the expanded cell fate potential of these cells both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our findings not only provide key insights into the functional importance of miR-34a in restricting the totipotent cell fate potential of pluripotent stem cells, but also elucidate the underlying molecular basis by which miR-34a regulates the developmental potentials of ESCs/iPSCs.

Dataset Information

ATR expands embryonic stem cell fate potential in response to replication stress.

Publications

ATR expands embryonic stem cell fate potential in response to replication stress.

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