Alternative SET/TAFI Promoters Regulate Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are regulated by pluripotency-related transcription factors in concert with chromatin regulators. To identify additional stem cell regulators, we screened a library of endogenously labeled fluorescent fusion proteins in mouse ESCs for fluorescence loss during differentiation. We identified SET, which displayed a rapid isoform shift during early differentiation from the predominant isoform in ESCs, SETα, to the primary isoform in differentiated cells, SETβ, through alternative promoters.

Systematic identification of gene family regulators in mouse and human embryonic stem cells.

Pluripotent self-renewing embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have been the focus of a growing number of high-throughput experiments, revealing the genome-wide locations of hundreds of transcription factors and histone modifications. While most of these datasets were used in a specific context, all datasets combined offer a comprehensive view of chromatin characteristics and regulatory elements that govern cell states. Here, using hundreds of datasets in ESCs, we generated colocalization maps of chromatin proteins and modifications, and built a discovery pipeline for regulatory proteins of gene families.

Heterochromatin Protein 1β (HP1β) has distinct functions and distinct nuclear distribution in pluripotent versus differentiated cells.

Background: Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have the unique ability to differentiate into every cell type and to self-renew. These characteristics correlate with a distinct nuclear architecture, epigenetic signatures enriched for active chromatin marks and hyperdynamic binding of structural chromatin proteins. Recently, several chromatin-related proteins have been shown to regulate ESC pluripotency and/or differentiation, yet the role of the major heterochromatin proteins in pluripotency is unknown.

Differential association of chromatin proteins identifies BAF60a/SMARCD1 as a regulator of embryonic stem cell differentiation.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) possess a distinct chromatin conformation maintained by specialized chromatin proteins. To identify chromatin regulators in ESCs, we developed a simple biochemical assay named D-CAP (differential chromatin-associated proteins), using brief micrococcal nuclease digestion of chromatin, followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Using D-CAP, we identified several differentially chromatin-associated proteins between undifferentiated and differentiated ESCs, including the chromatin remodeling protein SMARCD1.