Post-transcriptionally regulated genes are essential for pluripotent stem cell survival

Here, by combining transcriptome and proteome profiling, we identified 228 post-transcriptionally regulated genes with strict regulation at the protein level in PSCs. Among them, 84 genes were found necessary for the survival of several cell types including PSCs, and 20 genes were identified as specific for the survival of PSCs. These 20 proteins were upregulated only in PSCs and not in differentiated cells derived from the three germ layers. Subcellular fractionation of the mRNA showed that the expression level of most of the 20 proteins was regulated at the mRNA localization stage from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in PSCs, but their translation efficiency was unchanged compared with other cell types. Together, these results reveal a critical function of post-transcriptionally regulated genes on PSC survival.