Protein vital to stem cell specialisation found

 

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Stem Cell Research have identified a protein fundamental to the specialisation of embryonic stem cells.

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Understanding how to direct embryonic stem cells to become particular specialised cells is fundamental to creating lab-grown cells. These can then be used to model disease, test new drugs and potentially treat illness and injury.

The scientists showed that mouse embryonic stem cells need the protein FGF4 to become ready to be converted into specialised cell types, such as brain or muscle cells.

Embryonic stem cells have the unique ability to divide to produce both copies of themselves and other, more specialised, cell types.

The process whereby embryonic stem cells commit to become specialised cells nevertheless remains obscure. In particular, the precise role of the protein Fibroblast Growth Factor 4 (FGF4) in this key decision point has been uncertain until now.

Dr Tilo Kunath and Professor Austin Smith, together with collaborators in Montreal, Canada, demonstrated that FGF4 is essential to coax cells into a transitional stage, from which they can go down any one of several paths.

Cells that are not afraid of commitment

"Depending on the signal presented to the mouse embryonic stem cells, they can go back to the naïve state, and divide without limit, or down one of several specialisation pathways, including routes towards nerve cells or muscle cells," said Dr Kunath.

"We have coined a name for the cells in this stage – we call them ‘commitment-competent’ cells, in contrast to the embryonic stem cells who do not receive a signal from FGF4, which we call ‘commitment-phobic’."

Human embryonic stem cells need FGF protein to grow in a dish. It is not yet known whether this is required for maintenance of the human stem cells, or for preparing the cells for specialisation, similarly to FGF4.

If confirmed in human embryonic stem cells, these latest findings provide further clues on how to manipulate the cells so as to direct them down specific pathways and obtain specialised cells.

This research has been published in the latest edition of the journal Development.

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