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STAT3 activation is sufficient to maintain an undifferentiated state of mouse embryonic stem cells
Author(s) -
Matsuda Takahiko,
Nakamura Takanori,
Nakao Kazuki,
Arai Takao,
Katsuki Motoya,
Heike Toshio,
Yokota Takashi
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1093/emboj/18.15.4261
Subject(s) - biology , embryonic stem cell , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , gene
Embryonic stem (ES) cells can be maintained in an undifferentiated state in the presence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). LIF acts through a receptor complex composed of a low affinity LIF receptor (LIFRβ) and gp130. We reported that the intracellular domain of gp130 plays an important role in self‐renewal of ES cells. In the present study, we examined the signaling pathway through which gp130 contributes to the self‐renewal of ES cells. Mutational analysis of the cytoplasmic domain of gp130 revealed that the tyrosine residue of gp130 responsible for STAT3 activation is necessary for self‐renewal of ES cells, while that required for SHP2 and MAP kinase activation was dispensable. Next, we constructed a fusion protein composed of the entire coding region of STAT3 and the ligand binding domain of the estrogen receptor. This construction (STAT3ER) induced expression of junB (one of the targets of STAT3) in ES cells in the presence of the synthetic ligand 4‐hydroxytamoxifen (4HT), thereby indicating that STAT3ER is a conditionally active form. ES cells transfected with STAT3ER cultured in the presence of 4HT maintained an undifferentiated state. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that STAT3 activation is required and sufficient to maintain the undifferentiated state of ES cells.

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