REVIEW: Metabolic Regulation of Mammalian Stem Cell Differentiation

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P. A. Tyurin-Kuzmin^1,a*, A. Yu. Molchanov², V. I. Chechekhin¹, A. M. Ivanova¹, and K. Yu. Kulebyakin¹

¹Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, 119991 Moscow, Russia

²Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Embryology, 119234 Moscow, Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received October 28, 2019; Revised January 19, 2020; Accepted January 19, 2020

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Formation of normal tissue structure, homeostasis maintenance, and tissue damage repair require proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. A distinctive feature of these cells is a unique organization of metabolic pathways, in which contribution of energy production mechanisms to the general cellular metabolism is principally different from that in differentiated cells. Moreover, metabolic changes during differentiation of embryonic and postnatal stem cells have several specific features. The alterations in the stem cell metabolism are not simply consequences of cell differentiation, but also active regulators of this process. Metabolic enzymes and intermediates control and guide the maintenance of stemness, self-renewal, and differentiation of stem cells. The review discusses the patterns and molecular mechanisms of the switch in the metabolism of stem cells during their transition from the pluripotent to differentiated state with the special emphasis on how metabolic processes occurring in the stem cells regulate their functions, ability to differentiate, and the choice of the direction for development.

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KEY WORDS: metabolism, pluripotent stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297920030025

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