RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The combined action of Esrrb and Nr5a2 is essential for naïve pluripotency JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2020.06.05.134999 DO 10.1101/2020.06.05.134999 A1 Nicola Festuccia A1 Nick Owens A1 Almira Chervova A1 Agnès Dubois A1 Pablo Navarro YR 2020 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/06/19/2020.06.05.134999.abstract AB The maintenance of pluripotency in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is governed by the action of an interconnected network of transcription factors. Among them, only Oct4 and Sox2 have been shown to be strictly required for the self-renewal of ESCs and pluripotency, particularly in culture conditions where differentiation cues are chemically inhibited. Here, we report that the conjunct activity of two orphan nuclear receptors, Esrrb and Nr5a2, parallels the importance of that of Oct4 and Sox2 in naïve ESCs. By occupying a large common set of regulatory elements, these two factors control the binding of Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog to DNA. Consequently, in their absence the pluripotency network collapses and the transcriptome is substantially deregulated, leading to the differentiation of ESCs. Altogether, this work identifies orphan nuclear receptors, previously thought to be performing supportive functions, as a new set of core regulators of naïve pluripotency.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.