Zfp281 functions as a barrier in embryonic stem cells to extraembryonic endoderm stem cells differentiation [ChIP-seq]

Cell-fate decisions and lineage commitment in early embryonic development are governed by comprehensive gene-regulatory programs. However, the molecular details leading to initial segregation of different lineages remain unclear. In the second cell-fate decision, epiblast (EPI) and primitive endoderm (PrE) lineages are formed from the pluripotent inner cell mass (ICM) cells at blastocyst stage. Here, we demonstrated that the pluripotency transcription factor Zfp281 is a barrier in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to PrE lineage differentiation. Zfp281 is expressed in extraembryonic endoderm cells (XENs), the ex vivo derivatives of PrE. But knockdown of Zfp281 doesn't affect either maintenance or expression of the PrE master regulators in XENs. Using an in vitro differentiation protocol, we revealed that knockout of Zfp281 significantly increased the efficiency of ESC to XEN derivation. Using a Zfp281 rescue line for the knockout cells, we further confirmed that effects of elevated efficiency of XEN derivation is specifically due to loss of Zfp281. Mechanistically, we revealed that Zfp281 interacts with components in the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), and recruits PRC2 to promoters of PrE master regulators GATA4 and GATA6 for transcriptional and epigenetic repression. Taken together, our results demonstrated a novel role of Zfp281 in second cell-fate decision in embryonic stem cell differentiation. Overall design: Genome binding/occupancy profiling of Zfp281 and Suz12 in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and extraembryonic endoderm stem cells (XENs) by ChIP sequencing.