Nono, a novel bivalent domain factor, regulates Erk signaling and mouse embryonic stem cell pluripotency [ChIP-Seq]

Here we report that NONO, a nuclear para-speckle component, instead functions as a chromatin regulator in mESCs acting in the ERK signaling pathway to regulate the balance between ground state versus mESCs primed for differentiation. NONO loss increases a \u201cground-like\u201d population of mESCs favoring self-renewal and more resist to differentiation, partially mimicking the effects of 2i. Mechanistically, NONO and ERK mainly co-binds a subset of development related, bivalent genes. Importantly, NONO and ERK reciprocally regulate one another, i.e. NONO regulates ERK activation while ERK controls NONO chromatin association, forming a self-reinforcing feedback loop. Our findings thus reveal a cell intrinsic mechanism involving NONO and ERK, which impact the balance between self-renewal and differentiation, respectively.