Embryonic stem (ES) cells derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of blastocysts grow infinitely while maintaining pluripotency. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) can maintain self-renewal of mouse ES cells through activation of Stat3. However, LIF/Stat3 is dispensable for maintenance of ICM and human ES cells, suggesting that the pathway is not fundamental for pluripotency. In search of a critical factor(s) that underlies pluripotency in both ICM and ES cells, we performed in silico differential display and identified several genes specifically expressed in mouse ES cells and preimplantation embryos. We found that one of them, encoding the homeoprotein Nanog, was capable of maintaining ES cell self-renewal independently of LIF/Stat3. nanog-deficient ICM failed to generate epiblast and only produced parietal endoderm-like cells. nanog-deficient ES cells lost pluripotency and differentiated into extraembryonic endoderm lineage. These data demonstrate that Nanog is a critical factor underlying pluripotency in both ICM and ES cells.

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Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from mammalian blastocysts and maintain pluripotency, an ability to differentiate into all types of somatic and germ cells (32). Another important property of ES cells is their robust and infinite growth equivalent to tumor cells despite their normal karyotype. ES cells were developed from mouse blastocysts in 1981 (8, 15) and have been extensively used to generate knockout mice. Human ES cells were established in 1998 (33) and are considered promising sources for cell transplantation therapy.POU transcription factor Oct3/4 is expressed specifically in pluripotent cells, including ES cells, early embryos, and germ cells (27,31). Targeted disruption of the Oct3/4 gene in the mouse results in early embryonic lethality (21). The inner cellular mass of Oct3/4-null blastocysts differentiates exclusively into trophoblasts. Furthermore, conditional deletion of Oct3/4 in ES cells leads to spontaneous differentiation into trophectoderm (25), demonstrating that Oct3/4 is essential for selfrenewal of ES cells and mouse early development.Only a few Oct3/4 target genes have been identified. These include FGF-4 (4) and Rex-1 (2), in which Oct3/4 binds to an octamer motif, ATT(T/A)GCAT, located in regulatory elements. In FGF-4, SRY-related transcription factor Sox2 binds to a motif adjacent to the octamer sequence and synergistically activates transcription (5). In Rex-1, hypothetical factor ROX1 functions in a similar manner (2). It is not clear whether synergetic interaction with other transcription factors is common among target genes. Even consensus nucleotide sequences of Oct3/4-binding sites have not been fully determined. For example, the Oct3/4-binding site in UTF1 is one nucleotide different from the octamer sequence (22). Furthermore, it remains largely unknown how Oct3/4 maintains self-renewal of ES cells. Identification of novel Oct3/4 target genes is crucial to answering these questions.In this study, we utilized expression analyses, reporter gene analyses, and a gel mobility shift assay to demonstrate that Fbx15, which encodes an F-box-containing protein (35), is a novel target of Oct3/4. We also performed gene-targeting experiments to study physiological functions of Fbx15 in selfrenewal of ES cells, mouse development, and fertility. 467, 318, 198, 408, 239, 400, 453, 109,16, 523, 161, 483, 258, 264, 419, 529, 327, 411, 417, 418, 399, 196, 271, 255, 495, 101, 98, 351, 416, 321, 251, 412, 379, 549, 329, 265, 449, 328, 516, 320, 436, 427, 297, 366, 390, 315, 228, 277, 292, 284, 285, and 30 (a total of 1,328,835 entries). MATERIALS AND METHODS DigitalCell culture. The RF8 (16), JI (13), CGR8 (20), and MG1.19 (9) ES cell lines were cultured as previously described. Differentiation of ES cells was induced with retinoic acid as previously described (36). NIH 3T3 cells were cultured with Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (Sigma) containing 10% fetal bovine serum (Sanko Junyaku, Tokyo, Japan) and maintained at 37°C with 5% CO 2 .

Sox family transcription factors play essential roles in cell differentiation, development, and sex determination. Sox2 was previously thought to be the sole Sox protein expressed in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Sox2 associates with Oct3/4 to maintain self-renewal of ES cells. In the current study, digital differential display identified transcripts for an additional Sox family member, Sox15, enriched in mouse ES cells. Reverse transcription-PCR confirmed that Sox15 expression is highest in undifferentiated ES cells and repressed upon differentiation. Sox15 is expressed at low levels in several tissues, including testis and muscle. In vitro studies showed that Sox15, like Sox2, associated with Oct3/4 on DNA sequences containing the octamer motif and Soxbinding site. Gel mobility shift assays and SELEX analyses showed that Sox15 binds similar DNA sequences as Sox2 but with weaker affinity. In contrast to the early embryonic lethality observed in Sox2-null mice, Sox15-null ES cells and mice were grossly normal. DNA microarray analyses revealed that Otx2, Ctgf, Ebaf, and Hrc are dysregulated in Sox15-null ES cells, however. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that Sox15, but not Sox2, bound to a Sox consensus binding site within the Hrc gene. Taken together, these data demonstrate differential roles for Sox15 and Sox2 in transcriptional control in mouse ES cells.

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Stem cells have the remarkable ability to self-renew and to generate multiple cell types. Nucleostemin is one of proteins that are enriched in many types of stem cells. Targeted deletion of nucleostemin in the mouse results in developmental arrest at the implantation stage, indicating that nucleostemin is crucial for early embryogenesis. However, the molecular basis of nucleostemin function in early mouse embryos remains largely unknown, and the role of nucleostemin in tissue stem cells has not been examined by gene targeting analyses due to the early embryonic lethality of nucleostemin null animals. To address these questions, we generated inducible nucleostemin null embryonic stem (ES) cells in which both alleles of nucleostemin are disrupted, but nucleostemin cDNA under the control of a tetracycline-responsive transcriptional activator is introduced into the Rosa26 locus. We show that loss of nucleostemin results in reduced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis in both ES cells and ES cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells. The reduction in cell viability is much more profound in ES cells than in neural stem/progenitor cells, an effect that is mediated at least in part by increased induction and accumulation of p53 and/or activated caspase-3 in ES cells than in neural stem/progenitor cells.

Background: Embryonic stem cell-specific gene (ESG) 1, which encodes a KH-domain containing protein, is specifically expressed in early embryos, germ cells, and embryonic stem (ES) cells. Previous studies identified genomic clones containing the mouse ESG1 gene and five pseudogenes. However, their chromosomal localizations or physiological functions have not been determined.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells proliferate infinitely while maintaining pluripotency. The POU family transcription factor Oct3/4 is specifically expressed in ES cells and early embryos and plays a critical role in self-renewal of ES cells. However, only a few examples of Oct3/4 target genes have been identified. In this chapter, we describe our strategy to isolate novel Oct3/4 target genes. We first identify genes that are specifically expressed in ES cells by means of digital differential display of expressed sequence tag databases. Reporter gene and gel mobility shift assays are used to confirm the role of Oct3/4. Identification of novel Oct3/4 targets will facilitate our understanding of pluripotency.