Open AccessEssential Alterations of Heparan Sulfate During the Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells to Sox1‐Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein‐Expressing Neural Progenitor Cells
Author(s) -
Johnson Claire E.,
Crawford Brett E.,
Stavridis Marios,
ten Dam Gerdy,
Wat Annie L.,
Rushton Graham,
Ward Christopher M.,
Wilson Valerie,
van Kuppevelt Toin H.,
Esko Jeffrey D.,
Smith Austin,
Gallagher John T.,
Merry Catherine L. R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1634/stemcells.2006-0445
Subject(s) - biology , embryonic stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , sulfation , cellular differentiation , fibroblast growth factor , progenitor cell , heparan sulfate , stem cell , biochemistry , glycosaminoglycan , gene , receptor
Embryonic stem (ES) cells can be cultured in conditions that either maintain pluripotency or allow differentiation to the three embryonic germ layers. Heparan sulfate (HS), a highly polymorphic glycosaminoglycan, is a critical cell surface coreceptor in embryogenesis, and in this paper we describe its structural transition from an unusually low‐sulfated variant in ES cells to a more highly sulfated form in fluorescence‐activated cell sorting‐purified neural progenitor cells. The characteristic domain structure of HS was retained during this transformation. However, qualitative variations in surface sulfation patterns between ES and differentiated cells were revealed using HS epitope‐specific antibodies and the HS‐binding growth factor fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF‐2). Expression profiles of the HS modification enzymes indicated that both “early” ( N ‐sulfotransferases) and “late” (6 O ‐ and 3 O ‐sulfotransferases) sulfotransferases contributed to the alterations in sulfation patterning. An HS‐null ES line was used to demonstrate the necessity for HS in neural differentiation. HS is a coreceptor for many of the protein effectors implicated in pluripotency and differentiation (e.g., members of the FGF family, bone morphogenic proteins, and fibronectin). We suggest that the stage‐specific activities of these proteins are finely regulated by dynamic changes in sulfation motifs in HS chains. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.