Retention of ERK in the Cytoplasm Mediates the Pluripotency of Embryonic Stem Cells

Researchers found that in pluripotent mESCs, ERK1/2 did not translocate to the nucleus either before or after stimulation. This inhibition of nuclear translocation might be dependent on a lack of stimulated ERK1/2 interaction with importin7 rather than a lack of ERK1/2 phosphorylation activating translocation.