Glutamine contributes to maintenance of mouse embryonic stem cell self-renewal through PKC-dependent downregulation of HDAC1 and DNMT1/3a

Gln also stimulated mTOR phosphorylation in a time-dependent manner, which abolished by PKC inhibition. Furthermore, Gln increased the cellular population of both Oct4 and bromodeoxyuridine positive cells, suggesting that Gln regulates self-renewal ability of mESCs. Gln induced a decrease in HDAC1, but not in HDAC2, which were blocked by PKC inhibitors.

Gln treatment resulted in an increase in global histone acetylation and methylation. In addition, Gln significantly reduced methylation of the Oct4 promoter region through decrease in DNMT1 and DNMT3a expression, which were blocked by PKC and HDAC inhibitors. In conclusion, Gln stimulates mESC proliferation and maintains mESC undifferentiation status through transcription regulation via the Akt, PKCϵ, and mTOR signaling pathways.