title: Sox2 Level Is a Determinant of Cellular Reprogramming Potential.
abstract: Epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) differ in their in vivo differentiation potential. While ESCs form teratomas and efficiently contribute to the development of chimeras, EpiSCs form teratomas but very rarely chimeras. In contrast to their differentiation potential, the reprogramming potential of EpiSCs has not yet been investigated. Here we demonstrate that the epiblast-derived pluripotent stem cells EpiSCs and P19 embryonal carcinoma cells (ECCs) exhibit a lower reprogramming potential than ESCs and F9 ECCs. In addition, we show that the low reprogramming ability is due to the lower levels of Sox2 in epiblast-derived stem cells. Consistent with this observation, overexpression of Sox2 enhances reprogramming efficiency. In summary, these findings suggest that a low reprogramming potential is a general feature of epiblast-derived stem cells and that the Sox2 level is a determinant of the cellular reprogramming potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stem Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea ; Institute of Functional Genomics, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Wook
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tapia
authors.forename: Marcos J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Araúzo-Bravo
authors.forename: Kyung Tae
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Kee Pyo
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kinarm
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Hoon Taek
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hans R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Schöler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming; D051379:Mice; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; C527783:Sox2 protein, mouse