Summary

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs), are derived from inner cell mass of pre-implantation embryo and have the ability to continuously propagate while maintaining the capacity to differentiate into all cell lineages of the epiblast. Wnt/ β-catenin signaling pathway controls mouse ESCs regulatory circuit, enhancing reprogramming ability of fusion hybrids between Wnt-actived ESCs and differentiated cells. However, the downstream targets of the Wnt pathway contributing to the process of pluripotency and reprogramming remain unknown. Here using computational approaches, we identified a putative Wnt downstream target, as a key regulator of mESC pluripotency. Investigating the role of this factor in ESCs and embryogenesis gave us insight into the mechanisms controlling somatic cell reprogramming and ESC pluripotency.