期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:2014
卷号:111
期号:17
页码:E1740-E1748
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1320873111
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:AU-rich element mRNA-binding proteins (AUBPs) are key regulators of development, but how they are controlled and what functional roles they play depends on cellular context. Here, we show that Brf1 (zfp36l1), an AUBP from the Zfp36 protein family, operates downstream of FGF/Erk MAP kinase signaling to regulate pluripotency and cell fate decision making in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). FGF/Erk MAP kinase signaling up-regulates Brf1, which disrupts the expression of core pluripotency-associated genes and attenuates mESC self-renewal without inducing differentiation. These regulatory effects are mediated by rapid and direct destabilization of Brf1 targets, such as Nanog mRNA. Enhancing Brf1 expression does not compromise mESC pluripotency but does preferentially regulate mesendoderm commitment during differentiation, accelerating the expression of primitive streak markers. Together, these studies demonstrate that FGF signals use targeted mRNA degradation by Brf1 to enable rapid posttranscriptional control of gene expression in mESCs.