Communication Network In Stem Cells Uncovered

An international team of scientists has uncovered details of a key cell communication network in human embryonic stem cells.

Asian Scientist (Jul. 10, 2013) – An international team of scientists has uncovered details of a key cell communication network in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) that helps maintain its stem cell state.

Scientist around the world have been trying to harness the potential of human embryonic stem cells for various medical applications.This is in large part due to their remarkable property of pluripotency: the ability to form all human cell types. One question of interest is: how do stem cells maintain pluripotency?

It is known that many factors are required for stem cells to keep their special state. Some of these factors activated a well-studied cell communication pathway known as the ERK pathway. Activation of the ERK pathway causes a cell to respond by activating genetic information.

In their study, published in Molecular Cell, the scientists focused on a key component of the ERK pathway, an enzyme known as ERK2. To discover which genetic information is activated by ERK2, they mapped the sites in the genome that ERK2 binds to after activation. They found that ERK2 targets a variety of important sites such as non-coding genes and histones, cell cycle, metabolism and also stem cell-specific genes. The scientists also discovered that the ERK signaling pathway involves another protein, ELK1, which interacts with ERK2 to activate the genetic information.

Interestingly, at genomic sites not targeted by ERK2, ELK1 silences genetic information, thereby keeping the cell in its undifferentiated state.

These findings are particularly relevant for stem cell research, but they might also help research in other related fields as the ERK pathway is involved in many biological processes.

“We have found many biological processes that are associated with this signaling pathway, but we also found new and unexpected patterns such as this dual mode of ELK1,” said lead author Dr Jonathan Göke.

“It will be interesting to see how this communication network changes in other cells, tissues, or in disease.”

The article can be found at: Göke et al (2013) Genome-Wide Kinase-Chromatin Interactions Reveal The Regulatory Network Of ERK Signaling In Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

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Source: A*STAR; Image: CodonAUG/Flickr.
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