Transient RUNX1 Expression during Early Mesendodermal Differentiation of hESCs Promotes Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition through TGFB2 Signaling.

ABSTRACT: The transition of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) from pluripotency to lineage commitment is not fully understood, and a role for phenotypic transcription factors in the initial stages of hESC differentiation remains to be explored. From a screen of candidate factors, we found that RUNX1 is selectively and transiently upregulated early in hESC differentiation to mesendodermal lineages. Transcriptome profiling and functional analyses upon RUNX1 depletion established a role for RUNX1 in promoting cell motility. In parallel, we discovered a loss of repression for several epithelial genes, indicating that loss of RUNX1 impaired an epithelial to mesenchymal transition during differentiation. Cell biological and biochemical approaches revealed that RUNX1 depletion specifically compromised TGF

SUBMITTER: VanOudenhove JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5106514 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature