Integrating post-transcriptional regulation into the embryonic stem cell gene regulatory network

Stem cell behavior is orchestrated as a multilayered, concert of gene regulatory mechanisms collectively referred to as the gene regulatory network (GRN). Via cooperative mechanisms, transcriptional, epigenetic, and post-transcriptional regulators activate and repress gene expression to finely regulate stem cell self-renewal and commitment. Due to their tractability, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) serve as the model stem cell to dissect the complexities of the GRN, and discern its relation to stem cell fate. By way of high-throughput genomic analysis, targets of individual gene regulators have been established in ESCs. The compilation of these discrete networks has revealed convergent, multi-dimensional gene regulatory mechanisms involving transcription factors, epigenetic modifiers, non-coding RNA (ncRNA), and RNA-binding proteins. Here we highlight the seminal genomic studies that have shaped our understanding of the ESC GRN and describe alternate post-transcriptional gene regulatory mechanisms that require in depth analyses to draft networks that fully model ESC behavior. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 439449, 2012. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.