Spic regulates one-carbon metabolism and histone methylation in ground-state pluripotency

Sci Adv. 2023 Aug 18;9(33):eadg7997. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adg7997. Epub 2023 Aug 18.

Abstract

Understanding mechanisms of epigenetic regulation in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is of fundamental importance for stem cell and developmental biology. Here, we identify Spic, a member of the ETS family of transcription factors (TFs), as a marker of ground state pluripotency. We show that Spic is rapidly induced in ground state ESCs and in response to extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) inhibition. We find that SPIC binds to enhancer elements and stabilizes NANOG binding to chromatin, particularly at genes involved in choline/one-carbon (1C) metabolism such as Bhmt, Bhmt2, and Dmgdh. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments revealed that Spic controls 1C metabolism and the flux of S-adenosyl methionine to S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (SAM-to-SAH), thereby, modulating the levels of H3R17me2 and H3K4me3 histone marks in ESCs. Our findings highlight betaine-dependent 1C metabolism as a hallmark of ground state pluripotency primarily activated by SPIC. These findings underscore the role of uncharacterized auxiliary TFs in linking cellular metabolism to epigenetic regulation in ESCs.

MeSH terms

  • Carbon
  • Embryonic Stem Cells
  • Epigenesis, Genetic*
  • Histones*
  • Methylation
  • S-Adenosylmethionine

Substances

  • Carbon
  • Histones
  • S-Adenosylmethionine
  • Spic protein, mouse