Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41929189›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

MLL3/4 methyltransferases regulate the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells through coordinating glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration.

Suza Mohammad Nur, Yunbo Jia, Muyi Ye, Caylin A Lepak, Issam Ben-Sahra, Kaixiang Cao

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Suza Mohammad NurDepartment of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University.
Yunbo JiaDepartment of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University.
Muyi YeDepartment of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University.
Caylin A LepakDepartment of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University.
Issam Ben-SahraDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University.ORCID 0000-0001-9333-4162
Kaixiang CaoDepartment of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University.ORCID 0000-0001-9953-1503

Funding

TUMOR METABOLISM PROGRAMP30CA043703 · NCI · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · PI Amar Desai · 1987 to 2026
$142.3M
Deciphering enhancer regulation in stem cellsR35GM150668 · NIGMS · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · PI Kaixiang Cao · 2023 to 2026
$1.6M
Exploring novel regulatory mechanisms underlying enhancer activation and cell fate transitionR00HD094906 · NICHD · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · PI CAO, KAIXIANG · 2020 to 2022
$663k
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA043703NICHD NIH HHS R00 HD094906NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM150668
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Enhancer-regulating epigenetic modifiers play critical roles in normal physiological processes and human pathogenesis. The major enhancer regulator paralogs MLL3 and MLL4 (MLL3/4) belong to the lysine methyltransferase 2 (KMT2) family, which catalyzes the methylation of lysine 4 on histone H3 (H3K4me). MLL3/4 are required for enhancer activation and are essential for mammalian development and stem cell differentiation. Although recent studies have linked MLL3/4 with different metabolic pathways in the regulation of stem cell self-renewal and cancer cell growth, the mechanisms connecting enhancer function to metabolic control remain elusive. Here, using respiration flux assays, stable isotope tracing, transcriptomics, and stem cell biology techniques, we show that the loss of MLL3/4 impairs glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration in murine embryonic stem cells. Mechanistically, MLL3/4 deficiency suppresses the expression of the rate-limiting glycolytic enzyme hexokinase 2 (HK2) and compromises the function of the oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (OGDH) complex, thereby coordinately impairing central carbon metabolism. Remarkably, combined restoration of HK2 and OGDH rescues the metabolic defects caused by MLL3/4 loss and reinstates differentiation capacity. Taken together, our study identifies a direct link between enhancer-regulating epigenetic machineries and metabolic control of cell fate transition, providing a mechanistic framework for understanding how enhancer malfunction contributes to developmental abnormalities and human diseases.

Indexed as

cellular metabolismdifferentiationglycolysisMLL3MLL4stem cellsTCA cycle

Identifiers

PMID41929189
PMCPMC13041846

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.