Cell-surface proteomics identifies differences in signalling and adhesion protein expression between naive and primed human pluripotent stem cells

Naive and primed human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) provide valuable models to study cellular and molecular developmental processes. The lack of detailed information about cell-surface protein expression in these two pluripotent cell types prevents an understanding of how the cells communicate and interact with their microenvironments. Here, we used plasma membrane profiling to directly measure cell-surface protein expression in naive and primed hPSC. This unbiased approach quantified over 1700 plasma membrane proteins including those involved in cell adhesion, signalling and cell interactions. Notably, multiple cytokine receptors upstream of JAK-STAT signalling were more abundant in naive hPSC. In addition, functional experiments showed that FOLR1 and SUSD2 proteins are highly expressed at the cell surface in naive hPSC but are not required to establish human naive pluripotency. This study provides a comprehensive stem cell proteomic resource that uncovers differences in signalling pathway activity and has identified new markers to define human pluripotent states.