Detection of new genomic control elements is critical in understanding transcriptional regulatory networks in their entirety. We studied the genome-wide binding locations of three key regulatory proteins (POU5F1, also known as OCT4; NANOG; and CTCF) in human and mouse embryonic stem cells. In contrast to CTCF, we found that the binding profiles of OCT4 and NANOG are markedly different, with only approximately 5% of the regions being homologously occupied. We show that transposable elements contributed up to 25% of the bound sites in humans and mice and have wired new genes into the core regulatory network of embryonic stem cells. These data indicate that species-specific transposable elements have substantially altered the transcriptional circuitry of pluripotent stem cells.

The derivation of human ES cells (hESCs) from human blastocysts represents one of the milestones in stem cell biology. The full potential of hESCs in research and clinical applications requires a detailed understanding of the genetic network that governs the unique properties of hESCs. Here, we report a genome-wide RNA interference screen to identify genes which regulate self-renewal and pluripotency properties in hESCs. Interestingly, functionally distinct complexes involved in transcriptional regulation and chromatin remodelling are among the factors identified in the screen. To understand the roles of these potential regulators of hESCs, we studied transcription factor PRDM14 to gain new insights into its functional roles in the regulation of pluripotency. We showed that PRDM14 regulates directly the expression of key pluripotency gene POU5F1 through its proximal enhancer. Genome-wide location profiling experiments revealed that PRDM14 colocalized extensively with other key transcription factors such as OCT4, NANOG and SOX2, indicating that PRDM14 is integrated into the core transcriptional regulatory network. More importantly, in a gain-of-function assay, we showed that PRDM14 is able to enhance the efficiency of reprogramming of human fibroblasts in conjunction with OCT4, SOX2 and KLF4. Altogether, our study uncovers a wealth of novel hESC regulators wherein PRDM14 exemplifies a key transcription factor required for the maintenance of hESC identity and the reacquisition of pluripotency in human somatic cells.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst. Despite sharing the common property of pluripotency, hESCs are notably distinct from epiblast cells of the preimplantation blastocyst. Here we use a combination of three small-molecule inhibitors to sustain hESCs in a LIF signaling-dependent hESC state (3iL hESCs) with elevated expression of NANOG and epiblast-enriched genes such as KLF4, DPPA3, and TBX3. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis confirms that the expression signature of 3iL hESCs shares similarities with native preimplantation epiblast cells. We also show that 3iL hESCs have a distinct epigenetic landscape, characterized by derepression of preimplantation epiblast genes. Using genome-wide binding profiles of NANOG and OCT4, we identify enhancers that contribute to rewiring of the regulatory circuitry. In summary, our study identifies a distinct hESC state with defined regulatory circuitry that will facilitate future analysis of human preimplantation embryogenesis and pluripotency.