Pluripotency-State-Dependent Role of Dax1 in Embryonic Stem Cells Self-Renewal.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: He J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8286181 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:DAX1 (also known as Nr0b1) is regarded as an important component of the transcription factor network in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). However, the role and the molecular mechanism of Dax1 in the maintenance of different pluripotency states are poorly understood. Here, we constructed a stable Dax1 knockout (KO) cell line using the CRISPR/Cas9 system to analyze the precise function of Dax1. We reported that 2i/LIF-ESCs had significantly lower Dax1 expression than LIF/serum-ESCs. Dax1KO ES cell lines could be established in 2i/LIF and their pluripotency was confirmed. In contrast, Dax1-null ESCs could not be continuously passaged in LIF/serum due to severe differentiation and apoptosis. In LIF/serum, the activities of the Core module and Myc module were significantly reduced, while the PRC2 module was activated after Dax1KO. The expression of most pro-apoptotic genes and lineage-commitment genes were drastically increased, while the down-regulated expression of anti-apoptotic genes and many pluripotency genes was observed. Our research on the pluripotent state-dependent role of Dax1 provides clues to understand the molecular regulation mechanism at different stages of early embryonic development.
2021-07-21 | GSE168423 | GEO
Project description:Pluripotency-state-dependent Role of Dax1 in Embryonic Stem Cells Self-renewal
| PRJNA707399 | ENA
Project description:The neuronal repressor REST (RE1-silencing transcription factor; also called NRSF) is expressed at high levels in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, but its role in these cells is unclear. Here we show that REST maintains self-renewal and pluripotency in mouse ES cells through suppression of the microRNA miR-21. We found that, as with known self-renewal markers, the level of REST expression is much higher in self-renewing mouse ES cells than in differentiating mouse ES (embryoid body, EB) cells. Heterozygous deletion of Rest (Rest+/-) and its short-interfering-RNA-mediated knockdown in mouse ES cells cause a loss of self-renewal-even when these cells are grown under self-renewal conditions-and lead to the expression of markers specific for multiple lineages. Conversely, exogenously added REST maintains self-renewal in mouse EB cells. Furthermore, Rest+/- mouse ES cells cultured under self-renewal conditions express substantially reduced levels of several self-renewal regulators, including Oct4 (also called Pou5f1), Nanog, Sox2 and c-Myc, and exogenously added REST in mouse EB cells maintains the self-renewal phenotypes and expression of these self-renewal regulators. We also show that in mouse ES cells, REST is bound to the gene chromatin of a set of miRNAs that potentially target self-renewal genes. Whereas mouse ES cells and mouse EB cells containing exogenously added REST express lower levels of these miRNAs, EB cells, Rest+/- ES cells and ES cells treated with short interfering RNA targeting Rest express higher levels of these miRNAs. At least one of these REST-regulated miRNAs, miR-21, specifically suppresses the self-renewal of mouse ES cells, corresponding to the decreased expression of Oct4, Nanog, Sox2 and c-Myc. Thus, REST is a newly discovered element of the interconnected regulatory network that maintains the self-renewal and pluripotency of mouse ES cells.
| S-EPMC2830094 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Self-renewal and pluripotency of embryonic stem (ES) cells are maintained by several signaling cascades and by expression of intrinsic factors, such as Oct4, Nanog and Sox2. The mechanism regulating these signaling cascades in ES cells is of great interest. Recently, we have demonstrated that natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPR-A), a specific receptor for atrial and brain natriuretic peptides (ANP and BNP, respectively), is expressed in pre-implantation embryos and in ES cells. Here, we examined whether NPR-A is involved in the maintenance of ES cell pluripotency. RNA interference-mediated knockdown of NPR-A resulted in phenotypic changes, indicative of differentiation, downregulation of pluripotency factors (such as Oct4, Nanog and Sox2) and upregulation of differentiation genes. NPR-A knockdown also resulted in a marked downregulation of phosphorylated Akt. Furthermore, NPR-A knockdown induced accumulation of ES cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Interestingly, we found that ANP was expressed in self-renewing ES cells, whereas its level was reduced after ES cell differentiation. Treatment of ES cells with ANP upregulated the expression of Oct4, Nanog and phosphorylated Akt, and this upregulation depended on NPR-A signaling, because it was completely reversed by pretreatment with either an NPR-A antagonist or a cGMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor. These findings provide a novel role for NPR-A in the maintenance of self-renewal and pluripotency of ES cells.
| S-EPMC3101807 | biostudies-other
Project description:While endogenous Myc (c-myc) and Mycn (N-myc) have been reported to be separately dispensable for murine embryonic stem cell (mESC) function, myc greatly enhances induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell formation and overexpressed c-myc confers LIF-independence upon mESC. To address the role of myc genes in ESC and in pluripotency generally, we conditionally knocked out both c- and N-myc using myc doubly homozygously floxed mESC lines (cDKO). Both lines of myc cDKO mESC exhibited severely disrupted self-renewal, pluripotency, and survival along with enhanced differentiation. Chimeric embryos injected with DKO mESC most often completely failed to develop or in rare cases survived but with severe defects. The essential nature of myc for self-renewal and pluripotency is at least in part mediated through orchestrating pluripotency-related cell cycle and metabolic programs. This study demonstrates that endogenous myc genes are essential for mESC pluripotency and self-renewal as well as providing the first evidence that myc genes are required for early embryogenesis, suggesting potential mechanisms of myc contribution to iPS cell formation.
| S-EPMC2916696 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Recent studies have shown that the RNA binding protein Musashi 2 (Msi2) plays important roles during development. Msi2 has also been shown to be elevated in several leukemias and its elevated expression has been linked with poorer prognosis in these cancers. Additionally, in embryonic stem cells (ESC) undergoing the early stages of differentiation, Msi2 has been shown to associate with the transcription factor Sox2, which is required for the self-renewal of ESC. These findings led us to examine the effects of Msi2 on the behavior of ESC. We determined that ESC express two isoforms of Msi2, the larger canonical isoform (isoform 1) and a shorter, splice-variant isoform (isoform 2). Using multiple shRNA lentiviral vectors, we determined that knockdown of Msi2 disrupts the self-renewal of ESC and promotes their differentiation into cells that express markers associated with mesoderm, ectoderm, and trophectoderm. Moreover, our studies indicate that the extent of differentiation and the loss of self-renewal capacity correlate with the levels to which Msi2 levels were decreased. We extended these findings by engineering ESC to inducibly express either Msi2 isoform1 or isoform 2. We determined that ectopic expression of Msi2 isoform 1, but not isoform 2, enhances the cloning efficiency of ESC. In addition, we examined how Msi2 isoform 1 and isoform 2 affect the differentiation of ESC. Interestingly, ectopic expression of either Msi2 isoform 1 or isoform 2 does not affect the pattern of differentiation induced by retinoic acid. Finally, we show that ectopic expression of either isoform 1 or isoform 2 is not sufficient to block the differentiation that results from the knockdown of both isoforms of Msi2. Thus, it appears that both isoforms of Msi2 are required for the self-renewal of ESC.
| S-EPMC3319613 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) present a novel platform for in vitro investigation of the early embryonic cellular response to ionizing radiation. Thus far, no study has analyzed the genome-wide transcriptional response to ionizing radiation in hESCs, nor has any study assessed their ability to form teratomas, the definitive test of pluripotency. In this study, we use microarrays to analyze the global gene expression changes in hESCs after low-dose (0.4 Gy), medium-dose (2 Gy), and high-dose (4 Gy) irradiation. We identify genes and pathways at each radiation dose that are involved in cell death, p53 signaling, cell cycling, cancer, embryonic and organ development, and others. Using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, we also show that the expression of a comprehensive set of core embryonic transcription factors is not altered by radiation at any dose. Transplantation of irradiated hESCs to immune-deficient mice results in teratoma formation from hESCs irradiated at all doses, definitive proof of pluripotency. Further, using a bioluminescence imaging technique, we have found that irradiation causes hESCs to initially die after transplantation, but the surviving cells quickly recover by 2 weeks to levels similar to control. To conclude, we show that similar to somatic cells, irradiated hESCs suffer significant death and apoptosis after irradiation. However, they continue to remain pluripotent and are able to form all three embryonic germ layers. Studies such as this will help define the limits for radiation exposure for pregnant women and also radiotracer reporter probes for tracking cellular regenerative therapies.
| S-EPMC3014320 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSelf-renewal and pluripotency are considered as unwavering features of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). How ESCs regulate the self-renewal and differentiation is a central question in development and regenerative medicine research. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was identified as a critical regulator in embryonic development, but its role in the maintenance of ESCs is poorly understood.MethodsHere, EGFR was disrupted by its specific inhibitor AG1478 in mouse ESCs (mESCs), and its self-renewal and pluripotency were characterized according to their proliferation, expression of pluripotency markers, embryoid body (EB) formation, and mRNA expression patterns. We also used another EGFR inhibitor (gefitinib) and RNA interference assay to rule out the possibility of non-specific effects of AG1478.ResultsEGFR inhibition by AG1478 treatment in mESCs markedly reduced cell proliferation, caused cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, and altered protein expressions of the cell cycle regulatory genes (CDK2 (decreased 11.3%) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (decreased 25.2%)). The immunoreactivities and protein expression of pluripotency factors (OCT4 (decreased 26.9%)) also dramatically decreased, while the differentiation related genes (GATA4 (increased 1.6-fold)) were up-regulated in mESCs after EGFR inhibition. Meanwhile, EGFR inhibition in mESCs disrupted EB formation, indicating its impaired pluripotency. Additionally, the effects observed by EGFR inhibition with another inhibitor gefitinib and siRNA were consistent with those observed by AG1478 treatment in mESCs. These effects were manifested in the decreased expression of proliferative and pluripotency-related genes and the increased expression of genes involved in differentiation. Moreover, RNA-seq analysis displayed that transcript profiling was changed significantly after EGFR inhibition by AG1478. A large number of differentially expressed genes were involved in cell cycle, apoptotic process, epigenetic modification, and metabolic process, which were related to self-renewal and pluripotency, confirming that EGFR deficiency impaired self-renewal and pluripotency in mESCs.ConclusionsTaken together, our results demonstrated the importance of EGFR in guarding the stemness of mESCs.
| S-EPMC6357870 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The Foxd3 forkhead transcription factor is required for maintaining pluripotent cells in the early mouse embryo and for the establishment of murine embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines. To begin to understand the role of Foxd3 in ESC maintenance, we derived ESC lines from blastocysts that carried two conditional Foxd3 alleles and a tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgene. Tamoxifen treatment produced a rapid and near complete loss of Foxd3 mRNA and protein. Foxd3-deficient ESCs maintained a normal proliferation rate but displayed increased apoptosis, and clonally dispersed ESCs showed a decreased ability to self-renew. Under either self-renewal or differentiation-promoting culture conditions we observed a strong, precocious differentiation of Foxd3 mutant ESCs along multiple lineages, including trophectoderm, endoderm, and mesendoderm. This profound alteration in biological behavior occurred in the face of continued expression of factors known to induce pluripotency, including Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog. We present a model for the role of Foxd3 in repressing differentiation, promoting self-renewal, and maintaining survival of mouse ESCs. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
| S-EPMC2658636 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nucleostemin (NS) is a nucleolar GTP-binding protein that was first identified in neural stem cells, the functions of which remain poorly understood. Here, we report that NS is required for mouse embryogenesis to reach blastulation, maintenance of embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal, and mammary epithelial cell (MEC) reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Ectopic NS also cooperates with OCT4 and SOX2 to reprogram MECs and mouse embryonic fibroblasts to iPS cells. NS promotes ESC self-renewal by sustaining rapid transit through the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Depletion of NS in ESCs retards transit through G1 and induces gene expression changes and morphological differentiation through a mechanism that involves the MEK/ERK protein kinases and that is active only during a protracted G1. Suppression of cell cycle inhibitors mitigates these effects. Our results implicate NS in the maintenance of ESC self-renewal, demonstrate the importance of rapid transit through G1 for this process, and expand the known classes of reprogramming factors.
| S-EPMC3373402 | biostudies-literature