Abstract

Protein arginine methylation is a posttranslational modification catalyzed by protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs), which play critical roles in many biological processes. To date, nine PRMT family members, namely, PRMT1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, have been identified in mammals. Among them, PRMT7 is a type III PRMT that can only catalyze the formation of monomethylarginine and plays pivotal roles in several kinds of stem cells. It has been reported that PRMT7 is closely associated with embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, muscle stem cells, and human cancer stem cells. PRMT7 deficiency or mutation led to severe developmental delay in mice and humans, which is possibly due to its crucial functions in stem cells. Here, we surveyed and summarized the studies on PRMT7 in stem cells and development in mice and humans and herein provide a discussion of the underlying molecular mechanisms. Furthermore, we also discuss the roles of PRMT7 in cancer, adipogenesis, male reproduction, cellular stress, and cellular senescence, as well as the future perspectives of PRMT7-related studies. Overall, PRMT7 mediates the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. Deficiency or mutation of PRMT7 causes developmental delay, including defects in skeletal muscle, bone, adipose tissues, neuron, and male reproduction. A better understanding of the roles of PRMT7 in stem cells and development as well as the underlying mechanisms will provide information for the development of strategies for in-depth research of PRMT7 and stem cells as well as their applications in life sciences and medicine.

Highlights

  • Arginine methylation is a common posttranslational modification of proteins, playing an essential role in several biological processes, such as mRNA splicing, DNA repair, transcription regulation, and signal transduction [1,2,3,4]

  • By summarizing the functions of PRMT7 in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), induced pluripotent stem cells, muscle stem cells (MuSCs), and cancer stem cells, we found that PRMT7 was crucial for the pluripotency, proliferation, and differentiation of stem cells

  • The common or similar phenotypes of PRMT7-/- mice and humans with PRMT7 mutations demonstrated the crucial roles of PRMT7 in the development of skeletal muscle, neurons, bone, adipose tissues, and male reproduction

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Summary

Introduction

Arginine methylation is a common posttranslational modification of proteins, playing an essential role in several biological processes, such as mRNA splicing, DNA repair, transcription regulation, and signal transduction [1,2,3,4]. Nine PRMTs have been characterized and classified into type I, type II, and type III PRMTs according to the type of catalyzed arginine methylation reaction. Among these three types of PRMTs, type I PRMTs which contain PRMT1, PRMT2, PRMT3, PRMT4/CARM1 (coactivator associated arginine methyltransferase 1), PRMT6, and PRMT8 catalyze the formation of monomethylarginine and asymmetric dimethylarginine. Most PRMTs tend to methylate glycine- and arginine-rich motifs in proteins [9]. PRMT4 ( known as CARM1) methylates proline-, glycine-, and methionine-rich motifs located on splicing and transcription elongation factors, which can affect alternative splicing [14]. This review is aimed at providing information for the development of strategies for the in-depth research of PRMT7 and stem cells as well as their applications in life sciences and medicine

The Roles of PRMT7 in Stem Cells
The Roles of PRMT7 in Development
The Roles of PRMT7 in Adipogenesis
The Roles of PRMT7 in B Cell Development
The Roles of PRMT7 in Male Reproduction
The Roles of PRMT7 in Cellular Stress and Senescence
Findings
Conclusions
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