The regulatory mechanism of chlorogenic acid on fatty acid metabolism in human embryonic stem cells

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a crucial bioactive dietary polyphenol found in plants and serves as the primary ingredient in numerous traditional Chinese medicine preparations. Due to its beneficial impact on treating metabolic syndrome, it has garnered significant attention in medical research. Previous studies have demonstrated that chlorogenic acid possesses antioxidative, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-tumor, lipid-lowering, glucose-lowering, and immunomodulatory properties, indicating its potential role in regulating metabolism. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) exhibit self-renewal and multi-directional differentiation capabilities. Any element within the culture system can alter the microenvironment and influence hESC metabolism. Therefore, hESCs provide a valuable and high-throughput model for investigating CGA's regulatory mechanism on metabolism in vitro. While previous studies have explored CGA's important regulatory role in human metabolism, its specific impact on hESCs metabolism remains undisclosed. Metabolites of hESCs are critical targets for enhancing stem cell function regulation. Prior research has emphasized the essential nature of de novo synthesis and β-oxidation of fatty acids for regulating hESCs; however, CGA's roles and mechanisms in regulating fatty acid metabolism within hESCs remain unelucidated. This study utilizes transcriptome analysis combined with epigenetics to investigate CGA's regulation of fatty acid metabolism within hESCs while analyzing the molecular mechanisms involved—providing a theoretical foundation for future regulation of HESC metabolism by CGA and offering potential optimizations for hESCs culture systems.