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Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Establishment of Genome-edited Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines: From Targeting to Isolation
Published on: February 2, 2016
PRPS1-mediated purine biosynthesis is critical for pluripotent stem cell survival and stemness
Yi Yang1, Lili Song1, Xia Huang1
1Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Ministry of Health, Department of Hematology and Oncology, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China.
Abstract:
Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have a unique energetic and biosynthetic metabolism compared with typically differentiated cells. However, the metabolism profiling of PSCs and its underlying mechanism are still unclear. Here, we report PSCs metabolism profiling and identify the purine synthesis enzymes, phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase 1/2 (PRPS1/2), are critical for PSCs stemness and survival. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (UHPLC-MS) analysis revealed that purine synthesis intermediate metabolite levels in PSCs are higher than that in somatic cells. Ectopic expression of PRPS1/2 did not improve purine biosynthesis, drug resistance, or stemness in PSCs. However, knockout of PRPS1 caused PSCs DNA damage and apoptosis. Depletion of PRPS2 attenuated PSCs stemness and assisted PSCs differentiation. Our finding demonstrates that PRPS1/2-mediated purine biosynthesis is critical for pluripotent stem cell stemness and survival.
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