Nature Communications (Nov 2016)

The deubiquitinase USP21 maintains the stemness of mouse embryonic stem cells via stabilization of Nanog

  • Jiali Jin,
  • Jian Liu,
  • Cong Chen,
  • Zhenping Liu,
  • Cong Jiang,
  • Hongshang Chu,
  • Weijuan Pan,
  • Xinbo Wang,
  • Lingqiang Zhang,
  • Bin Li,
  • Cizhong Jiang,
  • Xin Ge,
  • Xin Xie,
  • Ping Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13594
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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Nanog regulates embryonic stem cell (ESC) pluripotency but what controls Nanog protein stability is unclear. Here, the authors show that in mouse ESCs, Nanog protein is ubiquitinated and stabilized by the deubiquitinase USP21, which in turn is regulated by extrinsic signals, STAT3 and ERK.