The Polycomb group protein CBX6 is an essential regulator of embryonic stem cell identity.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29089522.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-017-01464-w and PMC identifier 5663739.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Polycomb group proteins (PcG) are transcriptional repressors that control cell identity and development. In mammals, five different CBX proteins associate with the core Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1). In mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), CBX6 and CBX7 are the most highly expressed CBX family members. CBX7 has been recently characterized, but little is known regarding the function of CBX6. Here, we show that CBX6 is essential for ESC identity. Its depletion destabilizes the pluripotency network and triggers differentiation. Mechanistically, we find that CBX6 is physically and functionally associated to both canonical PRC1 (cPRC1) and non-canonical PRC1 (ncPRC1) complexes. Notably, in contrast to CBX7, CBX6 is recruited to chromatin independently of H3K27me3. Taken together, our findings reveal that CBX6 is an essential component of ESC biology that contributes to the structural and functional complexity of the PRC1 complex.
Medical subject headings
- Cell Differentiation
- Gene Expression Profiling
- Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
- Polycomb-Group Proteins