Activation of Lineage Regulators and Transposable Elements across a Pluripotent Spectrum.

ABSTRACT: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are characterized by the pluripotent capacity to generate all embryonic lineages. Here, we show that ESCs can occupy a spectrum of distinct transcriptional and epigenetic states in response to varied extrinsic conditions. This spectrum broadly corresponds to a developmental continuum of pluripotency and is coupled with a gradient of increasing global DNA methylation. Each pluripotent state is linked with activation of distinct classes of transposable elements (TEs), which in turn influence ESCs through generating chimeric transcripts. Moreover, varied ESC culture parameters differentially license heterogeneous activation of master lineage regulators, including Sox1, Gata4, or Blimp1, and influence differentiation. Activation of Blimp1 is prevalent in 2i (without

SUBMITTER: Hackett JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5470235 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature