Direct targets of Klf5 transcription factor contribute to the maintenance of mouse embryonic stem cell undifferentiated state

作者：Parisi Silvia^*; Cozzuto Luca; Tarantino Carolina; Passaro Fabiana; Ciriello Simona; Aloia Luigi; Antonini Dario; De Simone Vincenzo; Pastore Lucio; Russo Tommaso

来源：BMC Biology, 2010, 8: 128.

DOI：10.1186/1741-7007-8-128

Background: A growing body of evidence has shown that Kruppel-like transcription factors play a crucial role in maintaining embryonic stem cell (ESC) pluripotency and in governing ESC fate decisions. Kruppel- like factor 5 (Klf5) appears to play a critical role in these processes, but detailed knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of this function is still not completely addressed.
Results: By combining genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation and microarray analysis, we have identified 161 putative primary targets of Klf5 in ESCs. We address three main points: (1) the relevance of the pathways governed by Klf5, demonstrating that suppression or constitutive expression of single Klf5 targets robustly affect the ESC undifferentiated phenotype; (2) the specificity of Klf5 compared to factors belonging to the same family, demonstrating that many Klf5 targets are not regulated by Klf2 and Klf4; and (3) the specificity of Klf5 function in ESCs, demonstrated by the significant differences between Klf5 targets in ESCs compared to adult cells, such as keratinocytes.
Conclusions: Taken together, these results, through the definition of a detailed list of Klf5 transcriptional targets in mouse ESCs, support the important and specific functional role of Klf5 in the maintenance of the undifferentiated ESC phenotype. See: http://www.biomedcental.com/1741-7007/8/125

• 出版日期2010-9-27