DNA methylation restricts lineage-specific functions of transcription factor Gata4 during embryonic stem cell differentiation.

ABSTRACT: DNA methylation changes dynamically during development and is essential for embryogenesis in mammals. However, how DNA methylation affects developmental gene expression and cell differentiation remains elusive. During embryogenesis, many key transcription factors are used repeatedly, triggering different outcomes depending on the cell type and developmental stage. Here, we report that DNA methylation modulates transcription-factor output in the context of cell differentiation. Using a drug-inducible Gata4 system and a mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell model of mesoderm differentiation, we examined the cellular response to Gata4 in ES and mesoderm cells. The activation of Gata4 in ES cells is known to drive their differentiation to endoderm. We show that the differentiation of wild-type ES cel

SUBMITTER: Oda M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3694845 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature