Cell Reports (Jan 2024)

Impact of eIF2α phosphorylation on the translational landscape of mouse embryonic stem cells

  • Mehdi Amiri,
  • Stephen J. Kiniry,
  • Anthony P. Possemato,
  • Niaz Mahmood,
  • Tayebeh Basiri,
  • Catherine R. Dufour,
  • Negar Tabatabaei,
  • Qiyun Deng,
  • Michael A. Bellucci,
  • Keerthana Harwalkar,
  • Matthew P. Stokes,
  • Vincent Giguère,
  • Randal J. Kaufman,
  • Yojiro Yamanaka,
  • Pavel V. Baranov,
  • Soroush Tahmasebi,
  • Nahum Sonenberg

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 43, no. 1
p. 113615

Abstract

Read online

Summary: The integrated stress response (ISR) is critical for cell survival under stress. In response to diverse environmental cues, eIF2α becomes phosphorylated, engendering a dramatic change in mRNA translation. The activation of ISR plays a pivotal role in the early embryogenesis, but the eIF2-dependent translational landscape in pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is largely unexplored. We employ a multi-omics approach consisting of ribosome profiling, proteomics, and metabolomics in wild-type (eIF2α+/+) and phosphorylation-deficient mutant eIF2α (eIF2αA/A) mouse ESCs (mESCs) to investigate phosphorylated (p)-eIF2α-dependent translational control of naive pluripotency. We show a transient increase in p-eIF2α in the naive epiblast layer of E4.5 embryos. Absence of eIF2α phosphorylation engenders an exit from naive pluripotency following 2i (two chemical inhibitors of MEK1/2 and GSK3α/β) withdrawal. p-eIF2α controls translation of mRNAs encoding proteins that govern pluripotency, chromatin organization, and glutathione synthesis. Thus, p-eIF2α acts as a key regulator of the naive pluripotency gene regulatory network.

Keywords