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Updated: Jun 9, 2026
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A Simple Method to Identify Kinases That Regulate Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency by High-throughput Inhibitor Screening
Published on: May 12, 2017
Myc represses primitive endoderm differentiation in pluripotent stem cells.
Keriayn N Smith1, Amar M Singh, Stephen Dalton
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences, The University of Georgia, 500 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Cell Stem Cell
|September 1, 2010
Summary
Myc proteins are essential for maintaining stem cell pluripotency by repressing differentiation factors like GATA6 and regulating cell cycle genes. Loss of Myc leads to spontaneous differentiation of stem cells.
Area of Science:
- Stem cell biology
- Molecular genetics
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer a model for studying stem cell pluripotency and self-renewal.
- Myc proteins are known to be crucial for maintaining murine embryonic stem cell (mESC) pluripotency and reprogramming fibroblasts.
- The exact mechanism of Myc's regulation of pluripotency is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the precise role of Myc in maintaining stem cell pluripotency.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which Myc regulates pluripotency and self-renewal.
Main Methods:
- Generation and analysis of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with codeleted c- and N-MYC.
- Gene expression analysis to identify targets of Myc regulation.
- Investigation of Myc's role in regulating primitive endoderm differentiation and cell cycle control.
Main Results:
- Codeletion of c- and N-MYC in iPSCs and ESCs induced spontaneous differentiation into primitive endoderm.
- Myc was found to sustain pluripotency by repressing the primitive endoderm master regulator GATA6.
- Myc also contributes to cell cycle control through the regulation of the mir-17-92 miRNA cluster.
Conclusions:
- Myc proteins are indispensable for maintaining pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
- Myc sustains pluripotency by inhibiting differentiation pathways, specifically repressing GATA6.
- Myc's function extends beyond proliferative and metabolic control, highlighting its critical role in stem cell fate determination.
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