Project description:Faithful execution of developmental programs relies on the acquisition of unique cell identities from pluripotent progenitors, a process governed by combinatorial inputs from numerous signaling cascades that ultimately dictate lineage-specific transcriptional outputs. Despite growing evidence that metabolism is integrated with many molecular networks, how pathways that control energy homeostasis may affect cell fate decisions is largely unknown. Here, we show that AMPK, a central metabolic regulator, plays critical roles in lineage specification. Although AMPK-deficient embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were normal in the pluripotent state, these cells displayed profound defects upon differentiation, failing to generate chimeric embryos and preferentially adopting an ectodermal fate at the expense of the endoderm during embryoid body (EB) formation. AMPK-/- EBs exhibited reduced levels of Tfeb, a master transcriptional regulator of lysosomes, leading to diminished endolysosomal function. Remarkably, genetic loss of Tfeb also yielded endodermal defects, while AMPK-null ESCs over-expressing this transcription factor normalized their differential potential, revealing an intimate connection between Tfeb/lysosomes and germ layer specification. The compromised endolysosomal system resulting from AMPK or Tfeb inactivation blunted Wnt signaling, while up-regulating this pathway restored expression of endodermal markers. Collectively, these results uncover the AMPK pathway as a novel regulator of cell fate determination during differentiation. 2 WT and 2 AMPK DKO ESC lines were differentiated into embryoid bodies (EBs) for various lengths of time (2, 4, 8, and 12 days) in high and low glucose conditions. Both ESC and EB samples were profiled by mRNA-seq to examine how global gene expression changes associated with ESC differentiation are affected by AMPK deletion.
Project description:Faithful execution of developmental programs relies on the acquisition of unique cell identities from pluripotent progenitors, a process governed by combinatorial inputs from numerous signaling cascades that ultimately dictate lineage-specific transcriptional outputs. Despite growing evidence that metabolism is integrated with many molecular networks, how pathways that control energy homeostasis may affect cell fate decisions is largely unknown. Here, we show that AMPK, a central metabolic regulator, plays critical roles in lineage specification. Although AMPK-deficient embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were normal in the pluripotent state, these cells displayed profound defects upon differentiation, failing to generate chimeric embryos and preferentially adopting an ectodermal fate at the expense of the endoderm during embryoid body (EB) formation. AMPK-/- EBs exhibited reduced levels of Tfeb, a master transcriptional regulator of lysosomes, leading to diminished endolysosomal function. Remarkably, genetic loss of Tfeb also yielded endodermal defects, while AMPK-null ESCs over-expressing this transcription factor normalized their differential potential, revealing an intimate connection between Tfeb/lysosomes and germ layer specification. The compromised endolysosomal system resulting from AMPK or Tfeb inactivation blunted Wnt signaling, while up-regulating this pathway restored expression of endodermal markers. Collectively, these results uncover the AMPK pathway as a novel regulator of cell fate determination during differentiation.
Project description:We show that lysosomes are antagonistically controlled by TFEB and MYC to balance catabolic and anabolic processes required for activating LT-HSC and guiding their lineage fate. TFEB-mediated induction of the endolysosomal pathway for membrane receptor degradation limits LT-HSC metabolic and mitogenic activation; this promotes quiescence and self-renewal and governs erythroid-myeloid commitment. By contrast, MYC engages biosynthetic processes while repressing lysosomal catabolism to drive LT-HSC activation. Collectively, our study identifies lysosomes as a central regulatory hub for proper and coordinated stem cell fate determination.
Project description:We show that lysosomes are antagonistically controlled by TFEB and MYC to balance catabolic and anabolic processes required for activating LT-HSC and guiding their lineage fate. TFEB-mediated induction of the endolysosomal pathway for membrane receptor degradation limits LT-HSC metabolic and mitogenic activation; this promotes quiescence and self-renewal and governs erythroid-myeloid commitment. By contrast, MYC engages biosynthetic processes while repressing lysosomal catabolism to drive LT-HSC activation. Collectively, our study identifies lysosomes as a central regulatory hub for proper and coordinated stem cell fate determination.
Project description:We show that lysosomes are antagonistically controlled by TFEB and MYC to balance catabolic and anabolic processes required for activating LT-HSC and guiding their lineage fate. TFEB-mediated induction of the endolysosomal pathway for membrane receptor degradation limits LT-HSC metabolic and mitogenic activation; this promotes quiescence and self-renewal and governs erythroid-myeloid commitment. By contrast, MYC engages biosynthetic processes while repressing lysosomal catabolism to drive LT-HSC activation. Collectively, our study identifies lysosomes as a central regulatory hub for proper and coordinated stem cell fate determination.
Project description:We show that lysosomes are antagonistically controlled by TFEB and MYC to balance catabolic and anabolic processes required for activating LT-HSC and guiding their lineage fate. TFEB-mediated induction of the endolysosomal pathway for membrane receptor degradation limits LT-HSC metabolic and mitogenic activation; this promotes quiescence and self-renewal and governs erythroid-myeloid commitment. By contrast, MYC engages biosynthetic processes while repressing lysosomal catabolism to drive LT-HSC activation. Collectively, our study identifies lysosomes as a central regulatory hub for proper and coordinated stem cell fate determination.
Project description:We show that lysosomes are antagonistically controlled by TFEB and MYC to balance catabolic and anabolic processes required for activating LT-HSC and guiding their lineage fate. TFEB-mediated induction of the endolysosomal pathway for membrane receptor degradation limits LT-HSC metabolic and mitogenic activation; this promotes quiescence and self-renewal and governs erythroid-myeloid commitment. By contrast, MYC engages biosynthetic processes while repressing lysosomal catabolism to drive LT-HSC activation. Collectively, our study identifies lysosomes as a central regulatory hub for proper and coordinated stem cell fate determination.
Project description:We show that lysosomes are antagonistically controlled by TFEB and MYC to balance catabolic and anabolic processes required for activating LT-HSC and guiding their lineage fate. TFEB-mediated induction of the endolysosomal pathway for membrane receptor degradation limits LT-HSC metabolic and mitogenic activation; this promotes quiescence and self-renewal and governs erythroid-myeloid commitment. By contrast, MYC engages biosynthetic processes while repressing lysosomal catabolism to drive LT-HSC activation. Collectively, our study identifies lysosomes as a central regulatory hub for proper and coordinated stem cell fate determination.
Project description:We show that lysosomes are antagonistically controlled by TFEB and MYC to balance catabolic and anabolic processes required for activating LT-HSC and guiding their lineage fate. TFEB-mediated induction of the endolysosomal pathway for membrane receptor degradation limits LT-HSC metabolic and mitogenic activation; this promotes quiescence and self-renewal and governs erythroid-myeloid commitment. By contrast, MYC engages biosynthetic processes while repressing lysosomal catabolism to drive LT-HSC activation. Collectively, our study identifies lysosomes as a central regulatory hub for proper and coordinated stem cell fate determination.
Project description:Cells respond to mitochondrial energetic stress with rapid activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which acutely inhibits anabolism and stimulates catabolism. AMPK also induces sustained transcriptional reprogramming of metabolism. The TFEB transcription factor is a major effector of AMPK signals, inducing lysosome genes following energetic stress. Yet the molecular mechanism underlying how AMPK activates TFEB remains unresolved. We demonstrate here that AMPK directly phosphorylates five conserved serine residues in FNIP1, which suppresses the function of the FLCN/FNIP1 RagC GAP complex, in turn controlling TFEB lysosomal localization. We demonstrate that FNIP1 phosphorylation is required for AMPK to induce nuclear translocation of TFEB, which is fully separable from AMPK control of canonical mTORC1 signaling. Using a non-phosphorylatable allele of FNIP1, we show that in parallel to lysosomal biogenesis, AMPK induces mitochondrial biogenesis via TFEB-dependent induction of PGC1a mRNA. This signaling from mitochondrial stress is also independent of amino-acid control of the Rags and TFEB, which still proceed normally in cells bearing the AMPK-non phosphorylatable allele of FNIP1. Taken together, mitochondrial energetic stress triggers AMPK/FNIP1-dependent TFEB nuclear translocation, inducing transcriptional waves of lysosomal and mitochondrial biogenesis.