Pontin functions as an essential coactivator for Oct4-dependent lincRN…

doi : 10.1038/ncomms7810

Kyungjin Boo, Jinhyuk Bhin, Yoon Jeon, Joom

yung Kim, Hi-Jai R. Shin, Jong-Eun Park, Kyeongkyu Kim, Chang Rok Kim, Hyonchol Jang, In-Hoo Kim, V. Narry Kim, Daehee Hwang, Ho Lee, & Sung Hee Baek

Received 21 August 2014, Accepted 27 February 2015, Published 10 April 2015.

Abstract
The actions of transcription factors, chromatin modifiers and noncoding RNAs are crucial for the programming of cell states. Although the importance of various epigenetic machineries for controlling pluripotency of embryonic stem (ES) cells has been previously studied, how chromatin modifiers cooperate with specific transcription factors still remains largely elusive. Here, we find that Pontin chromatin remodelling factor plays an essential role as a coactivator for Oct4 for maintenance of pluripotency in mouse ES cells. Genome-wide analyses reveal that Pontin and Oct4 share a substantial set of target genes involved in ES cell maintenance. Intriguingly, we find that the Oct4-dependent coactivator function of Pontin extends to the transcription of large intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) and in particular linc1253, a lineage programme repressing lincRNA, is a Pontin-dependent Oct4 target lincRNA. Together, our findings demonstrate that the Oct4-Pontin module plays critical roles in the regulation of genes involved in ES cell fate determination.

Link : http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150410/ncomms7810/abs/ncomms7810.html