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Updated: May 27, 2026
12:42
Probing for Mitochondrial Complex Activity in Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Published on: June 17, 2008
Assessing the function of mTOR in human embryonic stem cells.
Jiaxi Zhou1, Dong Li, Fei Wang
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. jiaxi@life.uiuc.edu
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|November 30, 2011
Summary
Inactivating the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) halts proliferation but promotes differentiation into mesoderm and endoderm lineages.
Area of Science:
- Stem cell biology
- Molecular signaling pathways
- Developmental biology
Background:
- Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) possess self-renewal and differentiation potential.
- The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is crucial for cell growth and metabolism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of mTOR in maintaining long-term undifferentiated growth of hESCs.
- To explore how mTOR regulates early lineage specification in hESCs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized rapamycin, a specific mTOR inhibitor.
- Employed gene-specific small-hairpin RNAs for mTOR inactivation.
- Assessed effects under self-renewal and early differentiation conditions.
Main Results:
- mTOR inactivation significantly impaired hESC proliferation.
- Inhibition of mTOR enhanced mesoderm and endoderm differentiation activities.
- Demonstrated a critical role for mTOR in hESC self-renewal versus differentiation balance.
Conclusions:
- mTOR signaling is essential for sustaining hESC self-renewal.
- Modulating mTOR activity can direct hESC differentiation towards specific lineages.
- The described protocol offers a general strategy for studying gene function in hESCs.
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