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Author response: PASK links cellular energy metabolism with a mitotic self-renewal network to establish differentiation competence

Full text Figures and data Side by side Abstract Editor's evaluation Introduction Results Discussion Methods Data availability References Decision letter Author response Article and author information Metrics Abstract Quiescent stem cells are activated in response to a mechanical or chemical injury to their tissue niche. Activated cells rapidly generate a heterogeneous progenitor population that regenerates the damaged tissues. While the transcriptional cadence that generates heterogeneity is known, the metabolic pathways influencing the transcriptional machinery to establish a heterogeneous progenitor population remains unclear. Here, we describe a novel pathway downstream of mitochondrial glutamine metabolism that confers stem cell heterogeneity and establishes differentiation competence by countering post-mitotic self-renewal machinery. We discovered that mitochondrial glutamine metabolism induces CBP/EP300-dependent acetylation of stem cell-specific kinase, PAS domain-containing kinase (PASK), resulting in its release from cytoplasmic granules and subsequent nuclear migration. In the nucleus, PASK catalytically outcompetes mitotic WDR5-anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) interaction resulting in the loss of post-mitotic Pax7 expression and exit from self-renewal. In concordance with these findings, genetic or pharmacological inhibition of PASK or glutamine metabolism upregulated Pax7 expression, reduced stem cell heterogeneity, and blocked myogenesis in vitro and muscle regeneration in mice. These results explain a mechanism whereby stem cells co-opt the proliferative functions of glutamine metabolism to generate transcriptional heterogeneity and establish differentiation competence by countering the mitotic self-renewal network via nuclear PASK. Editor's evaluation The study by Xiao et al. presents an important finding in the area of metabolic regulation underpinning cell fate decisions in murine muscle stem cells. Combining multiple approaches, the study provides convincing evidence of glutamine-dependent control of the sub-cellular localisation of the kinase PASK and the consequent activation of myogenic programs. The study will be of interest to researchers in the areas of stem cells, regeneration, and metabolic signalling. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.81717.sa0 Decision letter Reviews on Sciety eLife's review process Introduction Cell identity is a dynamic feature that must be continually reestablished in proliferating stem cells. To preserve stem cell identity, self-renewing stem cells rapidly reactivate the expression of genes linked with cell identity following cell division. Several mechanisms have been proposed for the post-mitotic reactivation of lineage-defining genes, including the mitotic recruitment of the E3 ubiquitin ligase anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) by WDR5 to transcriptional start sites of genes regulating pluripotency and H3K27ac mitotic bookmarking (Pelham-Webb et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2017; Oh et al., 2020). During mitosis, the WDR5-APC/C interaction is enhanced, and transient disruption of this interaction causes loss of pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) (Oh et al., 2020). However, how differentiation signals counter mitotic self-renewal machinery remains poorly understood. Expression of PAS domain-containing kinase (PASK), a kinase involved in cellular energy balance and metabolic control, positively correlates with the undifferentiated, proliferative state of ESCs and adult stem cells. Functionally, PASK is required for the onset of ESC and adult stem cell differentiation programs downstream of nutrient signaling (Kikani et al., 2019; Kikani et al., 2016). In adult muscles, PASK is required to induce an early regenerative myogenesis program (Kikani et al., 2016). During muscle regeneration, normally quiescent Pax7+ muscle stem cells (MuSCs) enter the cell cycle and undergo proliferative bursts, resulting in the generation of a heterogeneous, activated, self-renewing myoblast population (Pax7+/-, MyoD+/-, Myf5+/-). Signaling cues stimulate the generation of a committed progenitor population (MyoD+, MyoG+), which orchestrates the myogenesis program. We and others have shown that PASK is required to generate the MyoD+, MyoG+ committed progenitor population during myogenesis. Mechanistically, PASK phosphorylates WDR5, a member of the histone H3 lysine 4 methyltransferase (H3K4me3) complexes, in response to differentiation signaling. This phosphorylation sets in motion chromatin remodeling at the Myog promoter and its transcriptional activation resulting in the onset of myogenesis (Kikani et al., 2019; Kikani et al., 2016; Karakkat et al., 2019). This entire pathway is downstream of nutrient-activated mTOR-dependent phosphorylation of PASK, which stimulates the PASK-WDR5 interaction (Kikani et al., 2019). Intriguingly, the PASK function is specifically required to establish the initial committed myoblast progenitor population but is dispensable to sustain myogenesis (Kikani et al., 2019). Since PASK functions at the critical decision point between self-renewal and differentiation, understanding signals that regulate PASK activity and subcellular distribution could provide mechanistic insight into how the exit from self-renewal is regulated in stem cells to generate the committed progenitor population. Signaling cues from the early regenerating niche play critical regulatory roles in facilitating the transition from quiescent, non-proliferative MuSCs to activated, hyper-proliferative myoblasts during the early stages of tissue regeneration (Ryall et al., 2015). Mitochondrial uptake of glutamine is thought to play an essential role in sustaining stem cell proliferation by generating ATP and maintaining redox balance (Yu et al., 2019). During muscle regeneration, glutamine secreted by macrophages sustains myoblast proliferation and promotes differentiation (Shang et al., 2020); however, the precise mechanistic function of glutamine metabolism in driving myoblast differentiation is unclear. Our results discovered a novel mitochondrial-nuclear signaling axis that connects glutamine metabolism in the mitochondria with the mitotic self-renewal network in the nucleus. In this pathway, glutamine metabolic signaling is required to generate a differentiation-primed progenitor population by disrupting the cell cycle-linked WDR5-APC/C interaction via PASK acetylation and nuclear localization. This axis provides new insights into the regulation of stem cell self-renewal and differentiation and identifies key signaling pathways that could be targeted to enhance tissue regeneration. Results PASK inhibition preserves self-renewal and sustains the proliferation of adult stem cells and ESCs PASK is highly expressed in proliferating pluripotent, embryonic, and adult stem cells from mice and humans (Kikani et al., 2016). It is rapidly downregulated following the onset of the differentiation program in all systems resulting in the near absence of PASK expression in most adult tissues under normal physiology (Kikani et al., 2016). Functionally, PASK is required for the onset of terminal differentiation program in embryonic and adult mouse stem cells; however, the role of PASK in self-renewal and stemness properties of stem cells remains unclear. To answer these questions, we cultured mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) in the 2i+LIF (2i) condition designed to maintain pluripotency and subsequently replaced the 2i media with PASKi (PASK inhibitor, BioE-1197, Kikani et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2014)+LIF (PASKi) to assess if PASKi can sustain pluripotency after the withdrawal of 2i. Strikingly, replacing 2i media with PASKi in mESCs resulted in a further increase in the expression of genes associated with self-renewal and stemness (Pou5f1, Sox2, and Prex1 mRNA) when compared with mESCs cultured in the 2i conditions (Figure 1A, Figure 1—figure supplement 1A). Additionally, using a Rex1-GFP reporter mESC line (Wray et al., 2011), we observed that cells cultured in PASKi maintained GFP reporter expression at levels comparable to those cultured in 2i (Figure 1B, Figure 1—figure supplement 1B). To compare the differentiation competence of 2i vs. PASKi cultured mESCs, we performed an embryoid body (EB) formation assay of cells grown in 2i or PASKi. Cells grown in the 2i culture condition differentiate well, as seen from the emergence of several fluid-filled cavitated structures after the withdrawal of 2i. Remarkably, PASKi cultured cells showed a substantial increase in the numbers and size of fluid-filled cavitated structures compared with 2i pretreated cells (~52% for PASKi versus ~12% for 2i-treated cells, Figure 1—figure supplement 1C) after PASKi withdrawal. Consistent with our previous study, the presence of PASKi during EB formation attenuated differentiation as assessed morphologically (Figure 1—figure supplement 1C; Kikani et al., 2016). Thus, PASK inhibition in ESCs preserved self-renewal and enhanced differentiation potential upon PASK inhibitor withdrawal. Figure 1 with 4 supplements see all Download asset Open asset Inhibition of PAS domain-containing kinase (PASK) preserves pluripotency, decreases muscle stem cell (MuSC) heterogeneity, and inhibits precocious differentiation. (A) RT-qPCR analysis of indicated transcript levels from 2i+LIF cultured mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) after transitioning into 2i+LIF or PASKi+LIF conditions and cultured for 4 days. *p<0.05, error bars ± SD. (B) Rex1-GFP intensity levels from mESCs cultured in 2i vs. in PASKi as in (A). Rex1-GFP reporter expression was quantified by flow cytometry against a non-fluorescent control (control). (C) Isolated primary myoblasts were treated with DMSO or 50 µM PASKi for 4 days during the normal growth phase. Microscopy images were taken at 24 hr or 48 hr post-isolation and treatment. Scale bar = 40 µm. (D) Myogenic transcription factor progression of MuSCs after initial activation from quiescent (Pax7+) state. Activated MuSCs (ASC) are a highly heterogeneous population marked by varying levels and coexpression patterns of Pax7, MyoD, and Myf5. MyoD+ASC further differentiates into MyoG+ committed stem cells (CSC). CSC progenitors initiate a differentiation program to generate myotubes. (E) Expression pattern of myogenic regulatory factors in fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-sorted PaskWT and PaskKO myoblasts 48 hr after isolation. (F) Quantification of percent Pax7+, MyoD+, and MyoG+ cells from PaskWT and PaskKO animals. Error bars ± SD. *p<0.05, **p<0.005, ***p<0.0005 (KO vs. WT). (G) Fusion index (% nuclei in myotubes/total nuclei) was calculated from MHC-stained cells isolated from PaskWT or PaskKO animals. Error bars ± SD. ***p<0.0005 (KO vs. WT). (H) Experimental setup designed to compare the in vivo regeneration capabilities between PaskWT and PaskKO animals. (I) Embryonic myosin heavy chain (eMHC) staining of fresh-frozen muscle sections from mice of indicated genotype 5 days after muscle injury. DAPI marked nuclei, which are centrally localized in muscle sections from both animals, indicate of muscle regeneration in progress. (J) Quantification of eMHC+ myofiber numbers from experiment in Figure (I). Error bars ± SD. ***p<0.0005 (KO vs. WT). (K) Muscle sections from PaskWT or PaskKO animals were stained with anti-Pax7 (green) antibodies 5 days post-injury and centrally located nuclei were visualized using DAPI. (L) Quantification of Pax7+ cell numbers in PaskWT vs. PaskKO muscle sections 5 days post-injury. Error bars ± SD, ***p<0.0005 (KO vs. WT). (M) Heatmap of differentially expressed genes associated with stemness and myogenesis in C2C12 myoblasts treated with DMSO (control) or PASKi for 2 days. Figure 1—source data 1 Source data used to generate Figure 1. https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/81717/elife-81717-fig1-data1-v2.zip Download elife-81717-fig1-data1-v2.zip Figure 1—source data 2 Source data used to generate Figure 1. https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/81717/elife-81717-fig1-data2-v2.xlsx Download elife-81717-fig1-data2-v2.xlsx PASK is highly expressed in adult proliferating stem cells (Kikani et al., 2016). Adult MuSCs undergo successive transitions through quiescence, activation, commitment, and differentiation during regeneration in vivo and in culture upon their isolation. While PASK is expressed at negligible levels in adult quiescent MuSCs, its expression increases rapidly as MuSCs are activated and begin to proliferate (Figure 1—figure supplement 2A; Kikani et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2013). To test if PASK inhibition during in vitro activation of MuSCs affects self-renewal, stemness, and differentiation dynamics of adult stem cells, we isolated primary myoblasts from hindlimbs of uninjured mice using flow cytometry-based sorting of Sca-1-, CD31-, CD45-, VCAM1+, α7-Integrin+ cells and cultured them in the presence or absence of PASKi. PASK inhibition was well tolerated by isolated primary myoblasts and caused no apparent proliferation defect. On the other hand, PASKi robustly blocked the precocious myogenesis observed in the control myoblasts for as long as 4 days post-isolation (Figure 1C, Figure 1—figure supplement 2B–D). Taken together, these results suggest that PASK inhibition preserves the self-renewal property of cultured ESCs and adult MuSCs and prevents their precocious differentiation. To mechanistically understand how PASK functions during the onset of myoblast differentiation, we isolated primary myoblasts from PaskWT and PaskKO animals using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-based purification (Figure 1—figure supplement 3A). MuSCs isolated from PaskWT or PaskKO were indistinguishable in size 12 hr post-isolation and did not show overt proliferation defects, which is consistent with our previous results and the notion that PASK is not expressed or required for the maintenance or release from a quiescent state. Finally, while PaskWT cells began to form nascent myotubes by 48 hr post-isolation, PaskKO cells continued to proliferate and showed little signs of myotube formation (Figure 1—figure supplement 3B). Thus, genetic or pharmacological loss of PASK results in continued self-renewal of adult myoblasts and impaired differentiation. Quiescent MuSCs express Pax7 but lack MyoD or Myf5 protein expression (Figure 1—figure supplement 2A). Upon their isolation, Pax7+ MuSCs rapidly activate MyoD mRNA translation, and by 48 hr, Pax7+/MyoD+ SCs diverge into a heterogeneous population expressing a combination of Pax7, MyoD, and/or Myf5 (Figure 1D–E; Rocheteau et al., 2012). Interestingly, PaskKO MuSCs showed an increased percentage of Pax7+ myoblasts numbers compared with control (~83% for PaskKO vs. 30% for PaskWT) during 48 hr of culture. Similarly, loss of PASK resulted in reduced levels of MyoD+ myoblasts (Figure 1E–F). Furthermore, the increased proportion of Pax7+ myoblasts observed in PaskKO is independent of the method chosen for stem cell isolation (FACS, magnetic-activated cell sorting [MACS], and pronase-based method) (Figure 1—figure supplement 3C–D). Finally, PaskKO myoblasts showed a marked reduction in committed MyoG-expressing cells and myogenesis, as measured by the fusion index (Figure 1E–G). Thus, genetic loss of PASK increases self-renewing Pax7+ myoblast numbers and decreases the generation of committed (MyoD+/MyoG+) myoblasts in vitro. During adult muscle regeneration, Pax7+ myoblasts begin to proliferate and generate MyoD+/MyoG+ committed progenitor population by 3 days post-injury. These cells begin the regenerative myogenesis program, marked by the emergence of embryonic myosin (eMHC) expression. Loss of PASK severely affected the progression through the regenerative myogenesis program, as seen from decreased eMHC+ myofiber numbers in PaskKO animals compared with littermate controls 5 days post-injury (Figure 1H–I). Furthermore, loss of PASK resulted in a significant expansion of Pax7+ MuSC numbers in PaskKO muscles compared to the littermate control (Figure 1K–L). Combined with decreased MyoD+ myoblasts numbers and loss of MyoG expression in cells isolated from these animals in vitro (Figure 1E–G), our results indicate delayed generation of committed progenitor population in PaskKO animals. Thus, the loss of PASK impairs the transition from Pax7+ stem cells to the MyoD+/MyoG+ committed progenitor population required for the onset of the differentiation program. The increase in Pax7+ cell numbers seen in isolated myoblasts in PaskKO or PASKi-treated cells could be attributed to the suppression of differentiation by the loss of active PASK. Thus, we turned to non-transformed, cultured myoblasts such as C2C12, which can be maintained in a proliferative state for an extended duration under appropriate culture conditions. Furthermore, C2C12 cells express low levels of Pax7 compared with isolated myoblasts and show increased heterogeneity in Pax7 expression (Olguin and Olwin, 2004). Thus, the C2C12 system has been employed to discover cell-intrinsic pathways regulating Pax7 expression and function (Olguin and Olwin, 2004; McKinnell et al., 2008; Sincennes et al., 2021). Using this system, we asked if PASKi treatment during the proliferative phase affects the expression of genes associated with stemness and self-renewal in cultured myoblasts. We performed RNAseq analysis of C2C12 myoblasts treated with PASKi during proliferative, early differentiating, and late differentiating conditions. Our global transcriptomic analysis revealed a strong enrichment of genes associated with stemness and self-renewal at all time-points when PASK is inhibited, starting with the proliferative condition (Figure 1M, Figure 1—figure supplement 4). Furthermore, PASK inhibition preserved self-renewal and stemness despite culture conditions that otherwise stimulate differentiation (Figure 1M, Figure 1—figure supplement 4). Our results in ESCs and MuSCs show that the PASK inhibition is a viable strategy to preserve in vitro self-renewal and pluripotency of ESCs and adult stem cells and is indicative of its functional role in balancing stemness and pluripotency with differentiation. PASK is dynamically redistributed from cytoplasmic granules to the nucleus in a cellular heterogeneity-dependent manner To mechanistically understand how PASK inhibition sustains stem cell proliferation, we examined PASK subcellular distribution in proliferating versus early differentiating myoblasts. In proliferating C2C12 myoblasts (day 0), most of the PASK is localized in the cytosol and excluded from the nucleus (Figure 2A). Curiously, PASK appears to be localized into cytoplasmic granules in cultured myoblasts (Figure 2A, inset). Upon induction of the differentiation program, a significant loss of the cytoplasmic granular staining pattern occurs, and a large fraction of PASK was redistributed into the nucleus, as seen by overlapping intensities of the PASK signal with the nuclear marker DAPI and by biochemical fractionation (Figure 2A–B, Figure 2—figure supplement 1). We next asked if the subcellular distribution of PASK affects Pax7 expression in isolated primary myoblasts. Similar to cultured myoblasts, isolated primary myoblasts showed a strong granular staining pattern of PASK in proliferating myoblasts (Figure 2C). Furthermore, nearly all cells in which PASK was localized into the cytoplasmic granules were strongly positive for Pax7 expression (Figure 2D). In contrast, cells with any extent of nuclear-localized PASK lacked Pax7 expression, even under proliferating conditions (Figure 2D). In addition, in nascent myotubes (Figure 2E, marked by arrow), the PASK localization pattern is switched from within cytoplasmic granules to diffused nuclear, which correlated with the loss of Pax7 positivity (Figure 2F). These results suggest that nuclear translocation of PASK might be associated with heterogeneity in Pax7+ cell numbers seen in proliferating myoblasts (Figure 2D). Consistent with this, under proliferating conditions, Pax7hi (Figure 2G, yellow arrow indicates cells with stronger nuclear levels of Pax7) cells are more frequently associated with cytoplasmic PASK presence, and Pax7L0 (Figure 2G, white arrows indicate cells with relatively weaker nuclear levels of Pax7) or Pax7ab (cells lacking nuclear Pax7) are more frequently seen in cells with noticeable nuclear PASK presence (Figure 2G–H). Interestingly, we noticed asymmetric nuclear distribution of PASK in rapidly dividing myoblasts wherein a cell that asymmetrically retained nuclear PASK exhibited the loss of Pax7 expression post-mitosis, thereby creating heterogeneity in Pax7 expression in culture conditions (Figure 2I–J). Combined with data from Figure 1, our results indicated the mechanistic connection between PASK nuclear translocation and heterogeneity in Pax7 expression in proliferating myoblasts. Figure 2 with 1 supplement see all Download asset Open asset PAS domain-containing kinase (PASK) is localized in the cytoplasmic granules in self-renewing stem cells, which is redistributed to nucleus in Pax7-deficient cells. (A) Proliferating or differentiating C2C12 myoblasts were stained with anti-PASK (green), anti-MHC (MF20, red), or nuclei marker, DAPI antibody. Scale bar = 20 µm. The inset picture shows an enlarged view of the relative distribution of PASK in proliferating or differentiating myoblasts. Notice a granular or punctate staining pattern of endogenous PASK in C2C12 myoblasts in proliferative conditions. (B) Quantification of PASK subcellular distribution as a function of myoblasts state. Error bars ± SD, ***p<0.0005 (Nuclear PASK in Differentiating vs. proliferating). (C) Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-sorted muscle stem cells (MuSCs) from uninjured WT mice were stained for PASK and Pax7 24 hr after isolation. Notice a strong, granular staining pattern of PASK in the top panel, which is correlated with Pax7 positivity. The bottom panel shows uniform distribution of PASK, including in the nucleus. The inset picture shows the cytoplasmic granular staining pattern of PASK. (D) Violin plot showing a relationship between the subcellular localization of PASK and Pax7 expression. (E) FACS-sorted myoblasts were fixed 36 hr post-isolation and stained with PASK (green) and Pax7 (red). Arrow indicates nuclear PASK in early mononucleated myotubes. (F) Quantification of images from the experiment in (F). Error bars ± SD, ***p<0.0005 (Pax7+ in nuclear vs. cytosolic PASK). (G) Distribution of Pax7 expression (red) (high, low, or absent, as indicated by Pax7hi, Pax7lo, Pax7ab) in primary myoblasts with more cytosolic (C>N) vs. more nuclear (C<N) PASK (green). The yellow arrow indicates an example of a Pax7hi cell in which the PASK is cytoplasmic. The white arrow indicates Pax7L0 cells in which a large proportion of PASK is diffused nuclear. (H) Quantification of % Pax7+ myoblasts numbers as a function of relative PASK subcellular distribution. (I) Asynchronously proliferating primary myoblasts were stained with PASK and Pax7 antibodies. Notice the exclusion of Pax7 from daughter mitotic cells with asymmetric nuclear localization of PASK (white arrow). Scale bar = 40 µm. Error bars ± SD, ***p<0.0005 (Pax7+ in nuclear vs. cytosolic PASK). Signal-regulated nuclear import-export machinery regulates nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling of PASK Since PASK inhibition or genetic loss resulted in increased Pax7+ myoblast numbers (Figure 1E–F, Figure 1—figure supplement 3), we hypothesize that nuclear translocation of PASK is the cause and not the effect of decreased Pax7 expression. To directly test this hypothesis, we asked whether forced nuclear retention of PASK could inhibit Pax7 expression and drive exit from self-renewal. To do that, we first fused a powerful SV40 Nuclear Localization Sequence (PKKKRKV, NLS) to GFP-tagged human PASK. To our surprise, NLS-tagging was insufficient to drive PASK into the nucleus (Figure 3A), indicating the possible presence of a powerful nuclear export sequence (NES) in PASK that ensures cytoplasmic localization of PASK in proliferating cells. Consistent with this, treatment of cells expressing NLS-hPASK but not WT-hPASK with nuclear 1 inhibitor, resulted in a increased nuclear-localized PASK (Figure 3A). Figure 3 with 1 supplement see all Download asset Open asset regulated nuclear mechanism for PAS domain-containing kinase (A) cells were with GFP-tagged human PASK or GFP-tagged SV40 Cells were treated with for 2 hr as indicated and by The percentage of cells any GFP signal in the nucleus in condition was quantified (% cells showing nuclear bars = 40 µm. (B) GFP-tagged WT and its GFP-tagged and The PAS is in (C) cells were with GFP-tagged PASK and Cells were by The percentage of cells any GFP signal in the nucleus was in the (D) showing the of nuclear export and and their sequence relative to and (E) cells were with GFP-tagged WT PASK or or Cells were by The percentage of cells any GFP signal in the nucleus in condition was quantified (% (F) cells were with GFP-tagged SV40 nuclear export or Cells were by The percentage of cells strong GFP signal in the nucleus in condition was quantified (% (G) cells were with GFP-tagged SV40 NLS-hPASK Cells were for 12 hr and subsequently with or for 2 Cells were treated with indicated and by The percentage of cells any GFP signal in the nucleus in condition was quantified (% Figure data 1 Source data used to generate Figure Download Figure data 2 Source data used to generate Figure Download Figure data 3 Source data used to generate Figure Download have shown the interaction between human PASK and et al., 2015). Thus, we the that PASK is a nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling protein or more and that regulated and/or export in its nuclear localization at the onset of differentiation. could to the nucleus by this size we performed a of in PASK to the that PASK nuclear export (Figure 3B). for cells showing at nuclear GFP presence, we that the and cytoplasmic (Figure showed nuclear GFP expression in of cells (Figure while showed increased nuclear localization of PASK with of cells showing at nuclear GFP presence (Figure These results the presence of between and and between and We used multiple to and as in PASK (Figure Figure supplement Figure data 1 and et al., et al., 2021). The are to an in et al., and the are to the of that we discovered (Figure et al., We that of or resulted in a but significant increase in the of cells with nuclear PASK localization compared to or in the absence of (Figure Combined of and resulted in a increased proportion of cells that nuclear PASK, with the extent of nuclear PASK in cell to we observed for PASK during myogenesis (Figure However, nuclear retention of PASK to if the nuclear of PASK might be stronger PASK nuclear despite and Figure data 3 for a of in Figure supplement 1). Consistent with that, while of or in nuclear retention of (Figure both and in resulted in nuclear retention of in nearly of cells (Figure These results

Decision letter: PASK links cellular energy metabolism with a mitotic self-renewal network to establish differentiation competence

Restoring balance to liver stem cell research

Stem cells in the context of evolution and development

Low reprogramming efficiency and reduced pluripotency have been the two major obstacles in induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell research. An effective and quick method to assess the pluripotency levels of iPS cells at early stages would significantly increase the success rate of iPS cell generation and promote its applications. We have identified a conserved imprinted region of the mouse genome, the Dlk1-Dio3 region, which was activated in fully pluripotent mouse stem cells but repressed in partially pluripotent cells. The degree of activation of this region was positively correlated with the pluripotency levels of stem cells. A mammalian conserved cluster of microRNAs encoded by this region exhibited significant expression differences between full and partial pluripotent stem cells. Several microRNAs from this cluster potentially target components of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and may form a feedback regulatory loop resulting in the expression of all genes and non-coding RNAs encoded by this region in full pluripotent stem cells. No other genomic regions were found to exhibit such clear expression changes between cell lines with different pluripotency levels; therefore, the Dlk1-Dio3 region may serve as a marker to identify fully pluripotent iPS or embryonic stem cells from partial pluripotent cells. These findings also provide a step forward toward understanding the operating mechanisms during reprogramming to produce iPS cells and can potentially promote the application of iPS cells in regenerative medicine and cancer therapy.

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An interview with Norio Nakatsuji.

To the Editor: The molecular mechanisms and the control of smooth muscle cell (SMC) differentiation have been extensively investigated because of its therapeutic potential.1 To date, different cell types have been used to study SMC differentiation, including a variety of mouse embryonic stem cells,2 adult stem cells,3,4 and others.5 Because several fundamental differences exist between mouse and human embryonic development,6 lack of a good model system to study human SMC differentiation has hampered the progress of translating SMC knowledge to novel clinical therapies. Human embryonic stem (hES) cells provide a valuable source of cells for studying human cell differentiation and developing therapeutic potentials in regenerative medicine. Since the initial report describing the derivation of hES cells,7 a variety of studies have established in vitro differentiation strategies to several lineages. Recently, it has been demonstrated that vascular progenitors derived from hES cells could be differentiated into endothelial cells and SMCs by endothelial …

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