Abstract
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) of mice and humans have distinctmolecular and biological characteristics, raising thequestionofwhetheranearlier, "naive" state of pluripotency may exist in humans. Here we took a systematic approach to identify small molecules that support self-renewal of naive human ESCs based on maintenance of endogenous OCT4 distal enhancer activity, amolecular signature of ground state pluripotency. Iterative chemical screening identified a combination of five kinase inhibitors that induces and maintains OCT4 distal enhancer activity when applied directly to conventional human ESCs. These inhibitors generate human pluripotent cells in which transcription factors associatedwith the ground state of pluripotency are highly upregulated and bivalent chromatin domains are depleted. Comparison with previously reported naive human ESCs indicates that our conditions capture a distinct pluripotent state in humans that closely resembles that ofmouse ESCs. This study presents a framework for defining the culture requirements of naive human pluripotent cells.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 471-487 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Cell Stem Cell |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- Genetics
- Cell Biology