A translational rheostat integrates euchromatin regulation and growth of pluripotent embryonic cells

A transcriptionally permissive chromatin state is a characteristic of both the early blastocyst embryo and of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Recent work from the laboratory of Miguel Ramalho-Santos, described in this Editorial, demonstrates that this state is very sensitive to translational output, with a positive feedback loop linking high rates of translation with maintenance of a stem cell state of hyper-transcription and elevated chromatin accessibility (1).