Protein function is often regulated and controlled by posttranslational modifications, such as oxidation. Although oxidation has been mainly considered to be uncontrolled and nonenzymatic, many enzymatic oxidations occur on enzyme-selected lysine residues; for instance, LOXL2 oxidizes lysines by converting the ε-amino groups into aldehyde groups. Using an unbiased proteomic approach, we have identified methylated TAF10, a member of the TFIID complex, as a LOXL2 substrate. LOXL2 oxidation of TAF10 induces its release from its promoters, leading to a block in TFIID-dependent gene transcription. In embryonic stem cells, this results in the inactivation of the pluripotency genes and loss of the pluripotent capacity. During zebrafish development, the absence of LOXL2 resulted in the aberrant overexpression of the neural progenitor gene Sox2 and impaired neural differentiation. Thus, lysine oxidation of the transcription factor TAF10 is a controlled protein modification and demonstrates a role for protein oxidation in regulating pluripotency genes.

This work was supported by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) FIS/FEDER (PI12/01250; CP08/00223), MINECO (SAF2013-48849- C2-1-R), Association for International Cancer Research (AICR), Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer (RTICC, RD012/0036/005), Fundación Cientıfica de la Asociacion Espanñola contra el Cáncer (AECC), AECC Catalunya, and Fundacio´ La Marato´ TV3. S.P. was a recipient of a Miguel Servet contract (ISCIII/FIS); A.I., J.P.C., L.P.-R., and L.F. are supported by contracts from AICR, Fundacio´ La Marato´ TV3, Fundacio´ FERO, and FI Fellowship from/nGeneralitat de Catalunya, respectively