Pluripotent stem cells have unique characteristics compared to somatic cells. In this review, we summarize the response to environmental stresses (hypoxic, oxidative, thermal, and mechanical stresses) in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and their applications in the differentiation methods directed to specific lineages. Those stresses lead to activation of each specific transcription factor followed by the induction of downstream genes, and one of them regulates lineage specification. In short, hypoxic stress promotes the differentiation of ESCs to mesodermal lineages via HIF-1α activation. Concerning mechanical stress, high stiffness tends to promote mesodermal differentiation, while low stiffness promotes ectodermal differentiation via the modulation of YAP1. Furthermore, each step in the same lineage differentiation favors each appropriate stiffness of culture plate; for example, definitive endoderm favors high stiffness, while pancreatic progenitor favors low stiffness during pancreatic differentiation of human ESCs. Overall, treatments utilizing those stresses have no genotoxic or carcinogenic effects except oxidative stress; therefore, the differentiated cells are safe and could be useful for cell replacement therapy. In particular, the effect of mechanical stress on differentiation is becoming attractive for the field of regenerative medicine. Therefore, the development of a stress-mediated differentiation protocol is an important matter for the future.
Keywords: differentiation; embryonic stem cells; hypoxic stress; induced pluripotent stem cells; mechanical stress; oxidative stress; stress response; thermal stress.