Alternative splicing produces Nanog protein variants with different capacities for self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic stem cells.

ABSTRACT: Embryonic stem (ES) cells are distinguished by their ability to undergo unlimited self-renewal although retaining pluripotency, the capacity to specify cells of all germ layers. Alternative splicing contributes to these biological processes by vastly increasing the protein coding repertoire, enabling genes to code for novel variants that may confer different biological functions. The homeodomain transcription factor Nanog acts collaboratively with core factors Oct4 and Sox2 to govern the maintenance of pluripotency. We have discovered that Nanog is regulated by alternative splicing. Two novel exons and six subexons have been identified that extend the known Nanog gene structure and protein coding capacity. Alternative splicing results in two novel Nanog protein variants with attenuated cap

SUBMITTER: Das S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3234911 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature