VGLL4-TEAD1 promotes vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells via TET2.

The Hippo signaling pathway plays a critical role in cardiovascular development and stem cell differentiation. Using microarray profiling, we found that the Hippo pathway components vestigial-like family member 4 (VGLL4) and TEA domain transcription factor 1 (TEAD1) were upregulated during vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) differentiation from H1 ESCs (H1 embryonic stem cells). To further explore the role and molecular mechanisms of VGLL4 in regulating VSMC differentiation, we generated a VGLL4-knockdown H1 ESC line (heterozygous knockout) using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and found that VGLL4 knockdown inhibited VSMC specification. In contrast, overexpression of VGLL4 using the PiggyBac transposon system facilitated VSMC differentiation. We confirmed that this effect was mediated via TEAD1 and VGLL4 interaction. In addition, bioinformatics analysis revealed that Ten-eleven-translocation 2 (TET2), a DNA dioxygenase, is a target of TEAD1, and a luciferase assay further verified that TET2 is the target of the VGLL4-TEAD1 complex. Indeed, TET2 overexpression promoted VSMC marker gene expression and countered the VGLL4 knockdown-mediated inhibitory effects on VSMC differentiation. In summary, we revealed a novel role of VGLL4 in promoting VSMC differentiation from hESCs and identified TET2 as a new target of the VGLL4-TEAD1 complex, which may demethylate VSMC marker genes and facilitate VSMC differentiation. This study provides new insights into the VGLL4-TEAD1-TET2 axis in VSMC differentiation and vascular development.