RESUMEN
Through the histone methyltransferase EZH2, the Polycomb complex PRC2 mediates H3K27me3 and is associated with transcriptional repression. PRC2 regulates cell-fate decisions in model organisms; however, its role in regulating cell differentiation during human embryogenesis is unknown. Here, we report the characterization of EZH2-deficient human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). H3K27me3 was lost upon EZH2 deletion, identifying an essential requirement for EZH2 in methylating H3K27 in hESCs, in contrast to its non-essential role in mouse ESCs. Developmental regulators were derepressed in EZH2-deficient hESCs, and single-cell analysis revealed an unexpected acquisition of lineage-restricted transcriptional programs. EZH2-deficient hESCs show strongly reduced self-renewal and proliferation, thereby identifying a more severe phenotype compared to mouse ESCs. EZH2-deficient hESCs can initiate differentiation toward developmental lineages; however, they cannot fully differentiate into mature specialized tissues. Thus, EZH2 is required for stable ESC self-renewal, regulation of transcriptional programs, and for late-stage differentiation in this model of early human development.
Asunto(s)
Diferenciación Celular/genética , Autorrenovación de las Células/genética , Proteína Potenciadora del Homólogo Zeste 2/genética , Células Madre Embrionarias Humanas/metabolismo , Animales , Proliferación Celular/genética , Humanos , Histona Demetilasas con Dominio de Jumonji/genética , Ratones , Complejo Represivo Polycomb 2/genética , Proteínas del Grupo Polycomb/genética , Eliminación de Secuencia , Análisis de la Célula IndividualRESUMEN
The in vivo validation of cancer mutations and genes identified in cancer genomics is resource-intensive because of the low throughput of animal experiments. We describe a mouse model that allows multiple cancer mutations to be validated in each animal line. Animal lines are generated with multiple candidate cancer mutations using transposons. The candidate cancer genes are tagged and randomly expressed in somatic cells, allowing easy identification of the cancer genes involved in the generated tumours. This system presents a useful, generalised and efficient means for animal validation of cancer genes.