Effects of PUMILIO1 and PUMILIO2 knockdown on cardiomyogenic differentiation of human embryonic stem cells culture

PLoS One. 2020 May 21;15(5):e0222373. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222373. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Posttranscriptional regulation plays a fundamental role in the biology of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Many studies have demonstrated that multiple mRNAs are coregulated by one or more RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that orchestrate mRNA expression. A family of RBPs, which is known as the Pumilio-FBF (PUF) family, is highly conserved among different species and has been associated with the undifferentiated and differentiated states of different cell lines. In humans, two homologs of the PUF family have been found: Pumilio 1 (PUM1) and Pumilio 2 (PUM2). To understand the role of these proteins in human ESCs (hESCs), we first assessed the influence of the silencing of PUM1 and PUM2 on pluripotency genes and found that the knockdown of Pumilio genes significantly decreased the OCT4 and NANOG mRNA levels and reduced the amount of nuclear OCT4, which suggests that Pumilio proteins play a role in the maintenance of pluripotency in hESCs. Furthermore, we observed that PUM1-and-PUM2-silenced hESCs exhibited improved efficiency of in vitro cardiomyogenic differentiation. Through an in silico analysis, we identified mRNA targets of PUM1 and PUM2 that are expressed at the early stages of cardiomyogenesis, and further investigation will determine whether these target mRNAs are active and involved in the progression of cardiomyogenesis. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the role of Pumilio proteins in hESC maintenance and differentiation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Differentiation
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Human Embryonic Stem Cells / cytology
  • Human Embryonic Stem Cells / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Nanog Homeobox Protein / metabolism
  • Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / metabolism
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • RNA-Binding Proteins / physiology*

Substances

  • NANOG protein, human
  • Nanog Homeobox Protein
  • Octamer Transcription Factor-3
  • POU5F1 protein, human
  • PUM1 protein, human
  • PUM2 protein, human
  • RNA, Messenger
  • RNA-Binding Proteins

Grants and funding

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Award Number: 88881.067988/2014-01 financial supporting for Daniela Fiori Gradia. Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Medicina Regenerativa (INCTRegenera), Award Number: 465656/2014-5 financial supporting for Bruno Dallagiovanna. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.