Groucho related gene 5 (GRG5) is involved in embryonic and neural stem cell state decisions.
Konstantina ChanoumidouChristiana HadjimichaelParaskevi AthanasouliHenrik AhleniusAntonis KlonizakisChristoforos NikolaouElias DrakosAntonis KostourosIrene StratidakiMaria GrigoriouAndroniki KretsovaliPublished in: Scientific reports (2018)
Groucho related gene 5 (GRG5) is a multifunctional protein that has been implicated in late embryonic and postnatal mouse development. Here, we describe a previously unknown role of GRG5 in early developmental stages by analyzing its function in stem cell fate decisions. By both loss and gain of function approaches we demonstrate that ablation of GRG5 deregulates the Embryonic Stem Cell (ESC) pluripotent state whereas its overexpression leads to enhanced self-renewal and acquisition of cancer cell-like properties. The malignant characteristics of teratomas generated by ESCs that overexpress GRG5 reveal its pro-oncogenic potential. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis and cell differentiation approaches underline GRG5 as a multifaceted signaling regulator that represses mesendodermal-related genes. When ESCs exit pluripotency, GRG5 promotes neuroectodermal specification via Wnt and BMP signaling suppression. Moreover, GRG5 promotes the neuronal reprogramming of fibroblasts and maintains the self-renewal of Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) by sustaining the activity of Notch/Hes and Stat3 signaling pathways. In summary, our results demonstrate that GRG5 has pleiotropic roles in stem cell biology functioning as a stemness factor and a neural fate specifier.
Keyphrases
- stem cells
- cell fate
- cell proliferation
- neural stem cells
- genome wide
- transcription factor
- epithelial mesenchymal transition
- drug delivery
- cell therapy
- copy number
- gene expression
- preterm infants
- risk assessment
- oxidative stress
- pi k akt
- dna methylation
- cancer therapy
- climate change
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- brain injury
- drug induced
- cancer stem cells