Burn to cycle: energetics of cell-cycle control and stem cell maintenance

Stem cells have the unique ability to both maintain the stem cell population via self-renewal and give rise to differentiated cells. The balance between these options is very delicate and important for the short- and long-term maintenance of tissue homeostasis in an organism. Pathways involved in integrating environmental cues and in directing energy metabolism play an important role in the fate decisions of stem cells. In this review, we give an overview of the effects of cellular and systemic metabolic states on stem-cell fate in both embryonic and in adult stem cell populations, with a particular emphasis on cell-cycle regulation. We discuss the major pathways implicated in sensing energetic status and regulating metabolism, including: the mTOR pathway, Forkhead-box-O transcription factors (FoxOs), Sirtuins, reactive oxygen species (ROS), AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and LKB1, the mTOR pathway and hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs). Given the importance of a correct balance between self-renewal and differentiation, understanding the mechanisms that drive stem-cell fate in different metabolic conditions will provide more insight in stem cell biology in both health and disease.