金颖：Fox3 suppresses NFAT-mediated differentiation to maintain self-renewal of embryonic stem cells

金颖教授为分子发育生物学研究室主任，健康科学中心研究员。金教授介绍了Fox3通过抑制NFAT介导的分化维持了胚胎干细胞的自我更新的机制等前沿发现。

Pluripotency-associated transcription factor Foxd3 is required for maintaining pluripotent cells. However, molecular mechanisms underlying its function are largely unknown.

Here, we report that Foxd3 suppresses differentiation induced by Calcineurin-NFAT signaling to maintain the ESC identity. Mechanistically, Foxd3 interacts with NFAT proteins and recruits co-repressor Tle4, a member of the Tle suppressor family highly expressed in undifferentiated ESCs, to repress NFATc3’s transcriptional activities.

Furthermore, global transcriptome analysis shows that Foxd3 and NFATc3 co-regulate a set of differentiation-associated genes in ESCs. Collectively, our study establishes a molecular and functional link between a pluripotency-associated factor and an important ESC differentiation-inducing pathway.