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

Go Nagamatsu, Shigeru Saito, Keiyo Takubo, Toshio Suda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

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 growth factor plus 2i+A83 treatment on EGC formation. AKT played a major role in suppressing genes regulated by MBD3. From these results, we defined the distinct functions of Blimp-1 and Akt and provided mechanistic insights into the acquisition of pluripotency in PGCs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)111-124
Number of pages14
JournalStem Cell Reports
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 14 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biochemistry
  • Genetics
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology

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