Regulation of L-threonine dehydrogenase in somatic cell reprogramming.

Increasing evidence suggests that metabolic remodeling plays an important role in the regulation of somatic cell reprogramming. Threonine catabolism mediated by L-threonine dehydrogenase (TDH) has been recognized as a specific metabolic trait of mouse embryonic stem cells. However, it remains unknown whether TDH-mediated threonine catabolism could regulate reprogramming. Here, we report TDH as a novel regulator of somatic cell reprogramming. Knockdown of TDH inhibits, whereas induction of TDH enhances reprogramming efficiency. Moreover, microRNA-9 post-transcriptionally regulates the expression of TDH and thereby inhibits reprogramming efficiency. Furthermore, protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT5) interacts with TDH and mediates its post-translational arginine methylation. PRMT5 appears to regulate TDH enzyme activity through both methyltransferase-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Functionally, TDH-facilitated reprogramming efficiency is further enhanced by PRMT5. These results suggest that TDH-mediated threonine catabolism controls somatic cell reprogramming and indicate the importance of post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation of TDH.