@article {436, title = {Honey bee Royalactin unlocks conserved pluripotency pathway in mammals.}, journal = {Nature communications}, volume = {9}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Dec 4}, pages = {5078}, abstract = {Royal jelly is the queen-maker for the honey bee Apis mellifera, and has cross-species effects on longevity, fertility, and regeneration in mammals. Despite this knowledge, how royal jelly or its components exert their myriad effects has remained poorly understood. Using mouse embryonic stem cells as a platform, here we report that through its major protein component Royalactin, royal jelly can maintain pluripotency by activating a ground-state pluripotency-like gene network. We further identify Regina, a mammalian structural analog of Royalactin that also induces a naive-like state in mouse embryonic stem cells. This reveals an important innate program for stem cell self-renewal with broad implications in understanding the molecular regulation of stem cell fate across species.}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-06256-4}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06256-4}, author = {Wan, DC and Morgan, SL and Spencley, AL and Mariano, N and Chang, EY and Shankar, G and Luo, Y and Li, TH and Huh, D and Huynh, SK and Garcia, JM and Dovey, CM and Lumb, J and Liu, L and Brown, KV and Bermudez, A and Luong, R and Zeng, H and Mascetti, VL and Pitteri, SJ and Wang, J and Tu, H and Quarta, M and Sebastiano, V and Nusse, R and Rando, TA and Carette, JE and Bazan, JF and Wang, KC} }