Scientists Discover Molecular Communication Network in Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Wednesday, 03 July 2013
Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) in Berlin (Germany) have discovered a molecular network in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) that integrates cell communication signals to keep the cell in its stem cell state. These findings were reported in the June 2013 issue of Molecular Cell.
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This is a 100X magnification of a human
embryonic stem cell colony. Credit: A*STAR.
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Cell communication is of key importance in multicellular organisms. For example, the coordinated development of tissues in the embryo to become any specific organ requires that cells receive signals and respond accordingly. If there are errors in the signals, the cell will respond differently, possibly leading to diseases such as cancer. The communication signals which are used in hESCs activate a chain of reactions (called the extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) pathway) within each cell, causing the cell to respond by activating genetic information.
Scientists at the GIS and MPIMG studied which genetic information is activated in the cell, and thereby discovered a network for molecular communication in hESCs. They mapped the kinase interactions across the entire genome, and discovered that ERK2, a protein that belongs to the ERK signalling family, targets important sites such as non-coding genes and histones, cell cycle, metabolism and also stem cell-specific genes.
The ERK signalling pathway involves an additional protein, ELK1 which interacts with ERK2 to activate the genetic information. Interestingly, the team also discovered that ELK1 has a second, totally opposite function. At genomic sites which are not targeted by ERK signalling, ELK1 silences genetic information, thereby keeping the cell in its undifferentiated state. The authors propose a model that integrates this bi-directional control to keep the cell in the stem cell state.
These findings are particularly relevant for stem cell research, but they might also help research in other related fields.
First author Dr Jonathan Göke from Stem Cell and Developmental Biology at the GIS said:
"The ERK signalling pathway has been known for many years, but this is the first time we are able to see the full spectrum of the response in the genome of stem cells. We have found many biological processes that are associated with this signalling pathway, but we also found new and unexpected patterns such as this dual mode of ELK1. It will be interesting to see how this communication network changes in other cells, tissues, or in disease."
"A remarkable feature of this study is, how the information was extracted by computational means from the experimental data," said Prof Martin Vingron from MPIMG and co-author of this study.
"This is an important study because it describes the cell's signalling networks and its integration into the general regulatory network. Understanding the biology of embryonic stem cells is a first step to understanding the capabilities and caveats of stem cells in future medical applications," Prof Ng Huck Hui added.
Contact: Winnie Lim
Reference:
Genome-wide Kinase-Chromatin Interactions Reveal the Regulatory Network of ERK Signaling in Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Jonathan Göke, Yun-Shen Chan, Junli Yan, Martin Vingron and Huck-Hui Ng
Molecular Cell, 50(6), 844-855, 27 June 2013, DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2013.04.030
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