The Polycomb group protein CBX6 is an essential regulator of embryonic stem cell identity

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 1235 - 11
• Main Authors: Santanach, Alexandra, Blanco, Enrique, Jiang, Hua, Molloy, Kelly R., Sansó, Miriam, LaCava, John, Morey, Lluis, Di Croce, Luciano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.11.2017; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/337/176; 631/532/2117; Animals; Cell Differentiation - genetics; Chromatin; Complexity; Embryo cells; Embryonic stem cells; Embryos; Epigenetics; Gene Expression Profiling; HEK293 Cells; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Mammals; Mice; Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells - cytology; Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells - metabolism; multidisciplinary; Pluripotency; Polycomb group proteins; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 - genetics; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 - metabolism; Polycomb-Group Proteins - genetics; Polycomb-Group Proteins - metabolism; Proteins; Repressors; RNA Interference; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Structure-function relationships; Transcription factors
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01464-w

Polycomb group proteins (PcG) are transcriptional repressors that control cell identity and development. In mammals, five different CBX proteins associate with the core Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1). In mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), CBX6 and CBX7 are the most highly expressed CBX family members. CBX7 has been recently characterized, but little is known regarding the function of CBX6. Here, we show that CBX6 is essential for ESC identity. Its depletion destabilizes the pluripotency network and triggers differentiation. Mechanistically, we find that CBX6 is physically and functionally associated to both canonical PRC1 (cPRC1) and non-canonical PRC1 (ncPRC1) complexes. Notably, in contrast to CBX7, CBX6 is recruited to chromatin independently of H3K27me3. Taken together, our findings reveal that CBX6 is an essential component of ESC biology that contributes to the structural and functional complexity of the PRC1 complex. In mammals, five different CBX proteins can be part of Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1). Here, the authors provide evidence that CBX6 plays an essential role in regulating pluripotency in embryonic stem cells and that CBX6 functions as part of both canonical and non-canonical PRC1 complexes.