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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Oct4GiP Reporter Assay to Study Genes that Regulate Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Maintenance and Self-renewal
Published on: May 30, 2012
Polycomb-like 2 associates with PRC2 and regulates transcriptional networks during mouse embryonic stem cell
Emily Walker1, Wing Y Chang, Julie Hunkapiller
1Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G9, Canada.
Abstract:
Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are conserved epigenetic transcriptional repressors that control numerous developmental gene expression programs and have recently been implicated in modulating embryonic stem cell (ESC) fate. We identified the PcG protein PCL2 (polycomb-like 2) in a genome-wide screen for regulators of self-renewal and pluripotency and predicted that it would play an important role in mouse ESC-fate determination. Using multiple biochemical strategies, we provide evidence that PCL2 is a Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2)-associated protein in mouse ESCs. Knockdown of Pcl2 in ESCs resulted in heightened self-renewal characteristics, defects in differentiation, and altered patterns of histone methylation. Integration of global gene expression and promoter occupancy analyses allowed us to identify PCL2 and PRC2 transcriptional targets and draft regulatory networks. We describe the role of PCL2 in both modulating transcription of ESC self-renewal genes in undifferentiated ESCs as well as developmental regulators during early commitment and differentiation.
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