The quest for pluripotency: a comparative analysis across mammalian species

Abstract

Pluripotency is the developmental potential of a cell to give rise to all the cells in the three embryonic germ layers, including germline cells. Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) can be embryonic, germ cell or somatic cell in origin and can adopt alternative states of pluripotency: naïve or primed. Although several reports have described the differentiation of PSCs to extra-embryonic lineages, such as primitive endoderm and trophectoderm, this is still debated among scientists in the field. In this review, we integrate the recent findings on pluripotency among mammals, alternative states of pluripotency, signalling pathways associated with maintaining pluripotency and the nature of PSCs derived from various mammals. PSCs from humans and mouse have been the most extensively studied. In other mammalian species, more research is required for understanding the optimum in vitro conditions required for either achieving pluripotency or preservation of distinct pluripotent states. A comparative high-throughput analysis of PSCs of genes expressed in naïve or primed states of humans, nonhuman primates (NHP) and rodents, based on publicly available datasets revealed the probable prominence of seven signalling pathways common among these species, irrespective of the states of pluripotency. We conclude by highlighting some of the unresolved questions and future directions of research on pluripotency in mammals.

Generation of iPSCs from endangered Grevy’s zebra and comparative transcriptomic analysis of mammalian PSCs

“…Comparative transcriptomics will shed light on the understanding of the conservation and variations in mammalian PSCs, which share many of the criteria for pluripotency but also differ in their characteristics 13, 14, 20 . We observed that hierarchical clustering separates PSCs and fibroblasts, consistent with patterns of gene expression differences between tissues 23 .…”

“…Derivations of PSCs from a range of species have been reported, including cow 5 , pig 6 , horse [7][8][9][10][11] , naked mole-rat 12 , and other mammalian species 13,14 . In the reprogramming of (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder.…”

“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted August 10, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.10.455807 doi: bioRxiv preprint iPSCs, the defined combination of transcription factors can be effective with a wide range of taxonomic groups, except for some species that may require alternative factors, including bats, Tasmanian devils, platypus, and felids [15][16][17][18][19] . In most studies, PSCs have been shown to satisfy many of the criteria for pluripotency, while the characteristics of the cells are not completely defined 13,14 . PSCs can reside in various pluripotency states, such as naive and primed pluripotency, and differences in pluripotency states and configurations have been reported between humans and mice 20 ; besides, other species may exhibit alternative pluripotency states 13 .…”

“…Derivations of PSCs from a range of species have been reported, including cow 5 , pig 6 , horse [7][8][9][10][11] , naked mole-rat 12 , and other mammalian species 13,14 . In the reprogramming of iPSCs, the defined combination of transcription factors can be effective with a wide range of taxonomic groups, except for some species that may require alternative factors, including bats, Tasmanian devils, platypus, and felids [15][16][17][18][19] .…”

Building Pluripotency Identity in the Early Embryo and Derived Stem Cells

“…SCs, isolated either from embryos at different stages of pre-and early post-implantation development or from PSC lines, can be maintained in vitro applying self-renewal culture conditions [187,188] and possess cellular and molecular features that mirror different pluripotency states, defined as extended, naïve, intermediate and primed. They are characterized by distinguishable colony morphology, growth factor requirement, energetic metabolism, molecular signatures and, in the female cell lines, X inactivation status [70,189,190].…”