TGF-β/Nodal signaling boosts glucose uptake during mesendoderm differentiation by inducing a transmembrane micropeptide

TGF-β signaling is a central regulator of early development in metazoans, yet our understanding of the scope of TGF-β signaling’s downstream targets and associated physiological mechanisms in specifying developmentally appropriate cell fates is far from complete. Here, we found that a highly conserved, primitive-streak-specific micropeptide is a direct target of TGF-b/Nodal signaling. This transmembrane micropeptide (NEMEP) is essential for mesendoderm differentiation. Depletion of NEMEP impaired mesendoderm differentiation and caused a significant decrease in glucose uptake, while TGF-β signaling enhances glucose uptake in a NEMEP-dependent manner. Biochemically, we show that NEMEP promotes glucose uptake through its interactions with GLUT1/3. Thus, beyond expanding the scope of known TGF-β signaling targets in early development and showing that this target micropeptide augments the glucose uptake function of major glucose transporters during mesendoderm differentiation, our study provides a clear example for the direct functional impact of altered metabolism on cell fate determination in early embryogenesis. Identifiy TGF-β responsive lncRNA/micropeptide, dissect function and molecular mechanism of a micropeptide in mesendoderm differentiation