Histone Acetyltransferase MOF Blocks Acquisition of Quiescence in Ground-State ESCs through Activating Fatty Acid Oxidation

Le Tran Phuc Khoa, Yao-Chang Tsan, Fengbiao Mao, Daniel M Kremer, Peter Sajjakulnukit, Li Zhang, Bo Zhou, Xin Tong, Natarajan V Bhanu, Chunaram Choudhary, Benjamin A Garcia, Lei Yin, Gary D Smith, Thomas L Saunders, Stephanie L Bielas, Costas A Lyssiotis, Yali Dou

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38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Self-renewing embryonic stem cells (ESCs) respond to environmental cues by exiting pluripotency or entering a quiescent state. The molecular basis underlying this fate choice remains unclear. Here, we show that histone acetyltransferase MOF plays a critical role in this process through directly activating fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in the ground-state ESCs. We further show that the ground-state ESCs particularly rely on elevated FAO for oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and energy production. Mof deletion or FAO inhibition induces bona fide quiescent ground-state ESCs with an intact core pluripotency network and transcriptome signatures akin to the diapaused epiblasts in vivo. Mechanistically, MOF/FAO inhibition acts through reducing mitochondrial respiration (i.e., OXPHOS), which in turn triggers reversible pluripotent quiescence specifically in the ground-state ESCs. The inhibition of FAO/OXPHOS also induces quiescence in naive human ESCs. Our study suggests a general function of the MOF/FAO/OXPHOS axis in regulating cell fate determination in stem cells.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCell Stem Cell
Volume27
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)441-458.e10
Number of pages29
ISSN1934-5909
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

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