Probing the signaling requirements for naive human pluripotency by high-throughput chemical screening.

ABSTRACT: Naive human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have been isolated that more closely resemble the pre-implantation epiblast compared to conventional "primed" hESCs, but the signaling principles underlying these discrete stem cell states remain incompletely understood. Here, we describe the results from a high-throughput screen using ∼3,000 well-annotated compounds to identify essential signaling requirements for naive human pluripotency. We report that MEK1/2 inhibitors can be replaced during maintenance of naive human pluripotency by inhibitors targeting either upstream (FGFR, RAF) or downstream (ERK1/2) kinases. Naive hESCs maintained under these alternative conditions display elevated levels of ERK phosphorylation but retain genome-wide DNA hypomethylation and a transcriptional identity of the

SUBMITTER: Khan SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8272458 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature