Lipids Maintain Genomic Stability and Developmental Potency of Murine Pluripotent Stem Cells

Abstract: Lipids play vital roles in cellular homeostasis and regulate pluripotency of human stem cells. However, the impact of lipids on murine pluripotent stem cells is unclear. While Mek and Gsk3 inhibition supports the maintenance of murine embryonic stem cells in a homogenous naive state, prolonged culture in 2i results in aneuploidy and DNA hypomethylation that impairs developmental potential. Additionally, 2i fails to support derivation and culture of fully potent female ESCs. Here we find that mouse ESCs cultured in 2i/LIF supplemented with lipid-rich albumin (AlbuMAX) undergo pluripotency transition yet maintain genomic stability and full potency over long-term culture. Mechanistically, lipids in AlbuMAX impact intracellular metabolism including nucleotide biosynthesis, lipid biogenesis, and TCA cycle intermediates, with enhanced expression of ZCAN4 and DNMT3s that prevent telomere shortening and DNA hypomethylation. In concert with 2i, lipids induce a formative-like pluripotent state through direct stimulation of Mek-mediated Erk2 phosphorylation, which also alleviates X chromosome loss in female ESCs. Importantly, both male and female all-ESC mice can be generated from de novo derived ESCs using AlbuMAX-based media. Our findings underscore the importance of lipids to pluripotency and link nutrient cues to genome integrity in early development.