Integrative Analysis of the Acquisition of Pluripotency in PGCs Reveals the Mutually Exclusive Roles of Blimp-1 and AKT Signaling.

ABSTRACT: Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are lineage-restricted unipotent cells that can dedifferentiate into pluripotent embryonic germ cells (EGCs). Here we performed whole-transcriptome analysis during the conversion of PGCs into EGCs, a process by which cells acquire pluripotency. To examine the molecular mechanism underlying this conversion, we focused on Blimp-1 and Akt, which are involved in PGC specification and dedifferentiation, respectively. Blimp-1 overexpression in embryonic stem cells suppressed the expression of downstream targets of the pluripotency network. Conversely, Blimp-1 deletion in PGCs accelerated their dedifferentiation into pluripotent EGCs, illustrating that Blimp-1 is a pluripotency gatekeeper protein in PGCs. AKT signaling showed a synergistic effect with basic fibroblast

SUBMITTER: Nagamatsu G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4618250 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature