1. The N-end rule pathway enzyme Naa10 supports epiblast specification in mouse embryonic stem cells by modulating FGF/MAPK
- Author
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Daisuke Takekoshi, Hidemasa Kato, Masahiro Sakanaka, and Yoshimi Tokuzawa
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,MAPK/ERK pathway ,Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases ,N-end rule ,Biology ,Protein degradation ,03 medical and health sciences ,Gene Knockout Techniques ,Mice ,0302 clinical medicine ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Cell Lineage ,N-Terminal Acetyltransferase E ,N-Terminal Acetyltransferase A ,Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases ,Ubiquitin ,Endoderm ,Acetylation ,Cell Differentiation ,Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells ,Cell Biology ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,Embryonic stem cell ,Cell biology ,Ogden Syndrome ,Fibroblast Growth Factors ,030104 developmental biology ,Epiblast ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Proteolysis ,Stem cell ,Developmental biology ,Protein Processing, Post-Translational ,Germ Layers ,Developmental Biology - Abstract
N-terminal acetylation (Nt-acetylation) refers to the acetylation of the free α-amino group at the N-terminus of a polypeptide. While the effects of Nt-acetylation are multifaceted, its most known function is in the acetylation-dependent N-end rule protein degradation pathway (Ac/N-end rule pathway), where Nt-acetylation is recognized as a degron by designated E3 ligases, eventually leading to target degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Naa10 is the catalytic subunit of the major Nt-acetylation enzyme NatA, which Nt-acetylates proteins whose second amino acid has a small side chain. In humans, NAA10 is the responsible mutated gene in Ogden syndrome and is thought to play important roles in development. However, it is unclear how the Ac/N-end rule pathway affects the differentiation ability of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). We hypothesized that the balance of pluripotency factors may be maintained by the Ac/N-end rule pathway. Thus, we established Naa10 knockout mESCs to test this hypothesis. We found that Naa10 deficiency attenuated differentiation towards the epiblast lineage, deviating towards primitive endoderm. However, this was not caused by disturbing the balance of pluripotency factors, rather by augmenting FGF/MAPK signaling.
- Published
- 2018