アクティブボード・２０１６年８月
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研究発表を行った学会； オリジナルデータ

タイトル；The evolutionally-conserved function of group B1 Sox family members confers the unique role of Sox2 in mouse ES cells.
発表者；丹羽　仁史　氏
　　　（熊本大学　発生医学研究所　多能性幹細胞分野）
要旨；
In mouse ES cells, the function of Sox2 is essential for the maintenance of pluripotency. Since the Sox-family of transcription factors are well conserved in the animal kingdom, addressing the evolutionary origin of Sox2 function in pluripotent stem cells is intriguing from the perspective of understanding the origin of pluripotency. Here we approach this question using a functional complementation assay in inducible Sox2-null ES cells. Assaying mouse Sox proteins from different Groups, we found that only Group B1 and Group G proteins were able to support pluripotency. Interestingly, invertebrate homologs of mammalian Group B1 Sox proteins were able to replace the pluripotency-associated function of mouse Sox2. Moreover, the mouse ES cells rescued by the Drosophila SoxNeuro protein are able to contribute to chimeric embryos. These data indicate that the function of mouse Sox2 supporting pluripotency is based on an evolutionally conserved activity of the Group B1 Sox family.