The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor TCF4 recruits the Mediator Complex to activate gonadal genes and drive ovarian development.

ABSTRACT: The bipotential gonad is the precursor organ to both the ovary and testis and develops as part of the embryonic urogenital system. In mice, gonadogenesis initiates around embryonic day 9.5 (E9.5), when coelomic epithelial (CE) cells overlaying the mesonephric ducts proliferate and acquire competence to differentiate into the somatic cell types of the embryonic gonad, the pre-supporting cell (Sertoli cells in the testis and granulosa cells in the ovary) and the interstitial cell lineages. While some transcription factors that drive gonadal cell fate are known, we found that basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) binding sites are highly represented upstream of granulosa and interstitial genes. We investigated the bHLH Transcription Factor 4 (TCF4), which is expressed in GATA4+ somatic cells in both

SUBMITTER: O'Neil EV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11908221 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature