Transcription factor fluctuations underlie cell-to-cell variability in a signaling pathway response

• Published in: Genetics (Austin) Vol. 224; no. 3
• Main Authors: Ramu, Avinash, Cohen, Barak A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 06.07.2023; Genetics Society of America
• Subjects: Animals; Cell fate; Drug development; Fluctuations; Gene Expression Regulation; Genetic variability; Hedgehog protein; Hedgehog Proteins - genetics; Hedgehog Proteins - metabolism; Hypotheses; Investigation; Ligands; Mice; NIH 3T3 Cells; Signal Transduction; Stochasticity; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Variability; cell-to-cell variability; stochastic gene expression; single-cell transcriptomics
• ISSN: 1943-2631; 0016-6731; 1943-2631
• DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad094

Abstract Stochastic differences among clonal cells can initiate cell fate decisions in development or cause cell-to-cell differences in the responses to drugs or extracellular ligands. One hypothesis is that some of this phenotypic variability is caused by stochastic fluctuations in the activities of transcription factors (TFs). We tested this hypothesis in NIH3T3-CG cells using the response to Hedgehog signaling as a model cellular response. Here, we present evidence for the existence of distinct fast- and slow-responding substates in NIH3T3-CG cells. These two substates have distinct expression profiles, and fluctuations in the Prrx1 TF underlie some of the differences in expression and responsiveness between fast and slow cells. Our results show that fluctuations in TFs can contribute to cell-to-cell differences in Hedgehog signaling.