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Updated: Feb 26, 2026

A Simple Method to Identify Kinases That Regulate Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency by High-throughput Inhibitor Screening
Published on: May 12, 2017
Potassium as a pluripotency-associated element identified through inorganic element profiling in human pluripotent
Victor J T Lin1, Ashwini Zolekar1, Yi Shi1,2
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA.
Abstract:
Despite their well-known function in maintaining normal cell physiology, how inorganic elements are relevant to cellular pluripotency and differentiation in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has yet to be systematically explored. Using total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), we analyzed the inorganic components of human cells with isogenic backgrounds in distinct states of cellular pluripotency. The elemental profiles revealed that the potassium content of human cells significantly differs when their cellular pluripotency changes. Pharmacological treatment that alters cell membrane permeability to potassium affected the maintenance and establishment of cellular pluripotency via multiple mechanisms in bona fide hPSCs and reprogrammed cells. Collectively, we report that potassium is a pluripotency-associated inorganic element in human cells and provide novel insights into the manipulation of cellular pluripotency in hPSCs by regulating intracellular potassium.
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