TRIM37 interacts with TRIM28 to maintain primordial germ cell identity during migration.

TRIM37 is required to maintain primordial germ cell identity during migration, with Trim37 deficiency causing complete PGC depletion by embryonic day 12.5.

• Why it matters: After PGC specification, how germ cells keep somatic programs repressed during migration is unclear, despite the need for stable germline fate.
• What they did: In embryos, TRIM37 binds TRIM28 via its MATH domain and ubiquitinates TRIM28 via its RING domain, promoting nuclear retention; nuclear export or loss of ligase activity disrupts maintenance.
• The result: The TRIM37–TRIM28 complex, likely with AP2γ, restricts chromatin accessibility and lowers H3K27ac at somatic loci, repressing somatic transcriptional programs during PGC migration.

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