Esrrb transcription factor plays a key role in maintaining stem cell identity even after countless divisions

How is it that embryonic stem cells are able to divide over and over again without ever losing their identity? Scientists from the Institut Pasteur have recently answered this question with their discovery that a transcription factor, Esrrb, is directly involved in controlling the transfer of information that enables stem cells to continue expressing the same genes as the initial stem cell even after several generations of division. This epigenetic mechanism sheds light on the way in which cell identity is passed on. More broadly, the newly discovered mechanism could explain the self-renewal of cancer stem cells and provide new avenues for research into preventing their proliferation. In the longer term, understanding how stem cells work could give scientists in the field of regenerative medicine a high degree of precision in guiding the multiplication of these cells with a view to producing tissues or even organs.

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