Perspective Post-translational modulation of pluripotency

The maintenance of pluripotency relies on an intricate transcriptional network hinged on a key set of transcription factors. Pluripotent stem cells have been shown to be sensitive to modulations of the cellular abundance and transcriptional activity of these key pluripotency factors. Recent evidence highlights the important role of post-translational modifications, including ubiqui-tination, sumoylation, phosphorylation, methylation, and acetylation, in regulating the levels and activity of pluripotency factors to achieve a balance between pluripotency and differentiation. Pluripotency of stem cells, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), is defined as the ability of the cells to differ-entiate into all types of cells of an organ-ism. PSCs rely on a coordinated network of transcription factors to simultaneously maintain pluripotency and suppress lineage-specific differentiation. Central to these processes are the proteins Oct4