OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG co-regulate glycolysis and participate in somatic induced reprogramming

OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG (OSN) are the key factors of cell reprogramming, which are involved in the maintenance of stem cell pluripotency. Recently, it has been found that glycolysis plays an important role in the process of somatic-cell-induced reprogramming; however, the synergistic effect of OSN on glycolysis has rarely been reported. In this study, chicken embryonic fibroblasts (CEF) was reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by OCT4, SOX2, NANOG and LIN28 reprogramming strategy. RNA-seq showed that chicken iPSCs highly expressed pluripotent genes and the expression of the key genes of glycolysis, such as Hk1, Pfkp and Ldha, was also at a high level, while CEF was much lower. Glycolysis gene expression, glucose uptake and lactate production of CEF and iPSCs were also detected. The results showed that the glycolysis level of iPSCs was higher than that of CEF. ChIP-qPCR showed that SOX2 and NANOG transcription factors were significantly enriched in the promoter regions of Hk1, Pfkp and Ldha, while OCT4 was not. The above results indicated that OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG coordinately regulate glycolysis and participate in somatic-cell-induced reprogramming, thus setting a good foundation for further research on the molecular mechanism of somatic-cell-induced reprogramming.

Automated summary

This study found that OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG not only play a role in maintaining stem cell pluripotency but also coordinate glycolysis and participate in somatic-cell-induced reprogramming. This provides an important foundation for further research on the molecular mechanism of somatic-cell-induced reprogramming.