Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026
08:01
Oct4GiP Reporter Assay to Study Genes that Regulate Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Maintenance and Self-renewal
Published on: May 30, 2012
The polycomb group protein Suz12 is required for embryonic stem cell differentiation
Diego Pasini1, Adrian P Bracken, Jacob B Hansen
1Centre for Epigenetics and BRIC, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Molecular and Cellular Biology
|March 7, 2007
Summary
Suz12 is essential for Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) function. Loss of Suz12 in mouse embryonic stem cells disrupts histone methylation, impairing differentiation and gene regulation.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Epigenetics
- Stem Cell Biology
Background:
- Polycomb group (PcG) proteins, including those in Polycomb repressive complexes (PRCs), regulate gene expression.
- PRC2, containing EZH2, SUZ12, and EED, is crucial for transcriptional repression via histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3).
- Suz12 is vital for PRC2 activity, with its absence causing embryonic lethality in mice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of Suz12 in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell function and differentiation.
- To characterize the epigenetic and transcriptional consequences of Suz12 deficiency in ES cells.
- To explore the mechanisms of Polycomb group protein recruitment and function during ES cell differentiation.
Main Methods:
- Generation and culture of Suz12-deficient (Suz12(-/-)) mouse embryonic stem cells.
- Analysis of global H3K27me3 levels using molecular assays.
- Gene expression profiling to assess differentiation-specific gene activity and ES cell marker regulation.
- Investigation of Polycomb group protein recruitment to target genes during differentiation.
Main Results:
- Suz12(-/-) ES cells could be established and maintained in culture.
- Global H3K27me3 levels were significantly reduced in Suz12(-/-) ES cells.
- These cells exhibited dysregulated gene expression, with higher levels of differentiation-specific genes and impaired repression of ES cell markers.
- Suz12(-/-) ES cells showed defects in proper differentiation.
- Polycomb group proteins were recruited to genes during differentiation, but H3K27me3 increase did not always ensure transcriptional repression.
Conclusions:
- Suz12 is indispensable for establishing the specific gene expression programs necessary for mouse ES cell differentiation.
- The study provides evidence for diverse regulatory mechanisms employed by PcGs during cellular differentiation.
- Suz12 deficiency leads to a loss of epigenetic control, impacting both stem cell maintenance and differentiation potential.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Maintenance of the ES Cell State
The cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass only remain pluripotent for a short time. This state of pluripotency and self-renewal can be maintained in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture by adding specific chemicals or growth factors to ensure the cells can continue dividing and later differentiate into different cell types. In some cases, the cells are grown on a feeder layer of differentiated cells, which provides the growth factors and extracellular matrix components necessary for stem cell...
01:10Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation
The development of all multicellular organisms starts with the fusion of haploid cells called sperm and egg to form a diploid zygote. A zygote is a totipotent cell that can develop into a complete organism. The zygote undergoes cell division or cleavage to form an 8-cell mass. Until this stage, the cells are spherical, loosely attached, and remain totipotent. Totipotent cells are capable of developing both the embryonic and the extraembryonic tissues. However, as they continue to divide, they...
00:57Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem (ES) cells were first discovered in mice in 1981 by Martin Evans. In 1998, James Thomson identified a method to isolate embryonic stem cells from humans. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are obtained from 3-5 day old embryos that remain unused after an in vitro fertilization procedure.
ES cells are grown in a culture medium where they can divide indefinitely, creating ES cell lines. Under certain conditions, ES cells can differentiate, either spontaneously into a variety of...
ES cells are grown in a culture medium where they can divide indefinitely, creating ES cell lines. Under certain conditions, ES cells can differentiate, either spontaneously into a variety of...
00:58Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem (ES) cells are undifferentiated pluripotent cells, meaning they can produce any cell type in the body. This gives them tremendous potential in science and medicine since they can generate specific cell types for use in research or to replace body cells lost due to damage or disease.
01:29Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming
Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012 for this...
01:13Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different types of cells. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are post-mitotic—that is, they no longer divide. However, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they “de-differentiate” and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are also pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are therefore called induced pluripotent stem...