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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Investigation of the Transcriptional Role of a RUNX1 Intronic Silencer by CRISPR/Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells
Published on: September 1, 2019
The transcription factor snail regulates osteogenic differentiation by repressing Runx2 expression
Su Jin Park1, Seung-Hyun Jung, Gadi Jogeswar
1Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Osteoblasts originate from mesenchymal stem cells by the coordinated activities of different signaling pathways that regulate the expression of osteoblast-specific genes. Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) is the master transcription factor for osteoblast differentiation. Despite the importance of Runx2 in the developing skeleton, how Runx2 expression is regulated remains a pivotal question. Snail, a zinc finger transcription factor, is essential for triggering epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) during embryonic development and tumor progression. Here, we report that Runx2 expression is significantly up- or down-regulated relative to Snail expression. We demonstrate that Snail binds to the Runx2 promoter and that repression of Runx2 transcription by Snail is dependent on specific E-box sequence within the promoter. With antisense morpholino oligonucleotide (MO)-mediated knockdown of Snail expression in zebrafish, we observed alterations in osteogenic potential. These results indicate that Snail plays a crucial role in osteogenic differentiation by acting as a direct Runx2 repressor.
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