Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026
09:07
Prediction and Validation of Gene Regulatory Elements Activated During Retinoic Acid Induced Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation
Published on: June 21, 2016
Differential requirements for cellular enhancers in stem and differentiated cells
T F Vogt1, R S Compton, R W Scott
1Institute for Cancer Research, Philadelphia, PA 19111.
Nucleic Acids Research
|January 25, 1988
Summary
Regulatory elements control alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene expression during cell differentiation. Enhancers are crucial for AFP activation in stem cells but not in differentiated liver cells.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene plays a role in embryonic development and is re-expressed in certain cancers.
- Regulatory elements, including enhancers and promoters, control gene expression.
- Understanding AFP gene regulation is crucial for studying development and disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of cis-acting regulatory elements (enhancers and proximal promoter) in controlling AFP gene expression during cellular differentiation.
- To compare the regulatory requirements of the AFP gene in cells at different differentiation stages.
Main Methods:
- DNA transfection of modified AFP genes into F9 embryonal carcinoma stem cells and HepG2 hepatoma cells.
- Induction of differentiation in F9 cells using retinoic acid.
- Analysis of AFP gene expression levels in response to regulatory element modifications and differentiation.
Main Results:
- In F9 cells, AFP gene activation required both enhancer and proximal promoter elements, with rapid expression upon retinoic acid treatment.
- In HepG2 cells, proximal promoter sequences alone were sufficient for low-level AFP expression, independent of enhancers.
- The requirement for enhancers varied depending on the differentiation state of the cells.
Conclusions:
- Enhancers are obligately required for AFP gene activation during differentiation in stem cells.
- Enhancers play a role in enhancing gene expression post-differentiation, but their requirement is context-dependent.
- Cellular differentiation imposes distinct regulatory demands on gene expression compared to constitutive expression in differentiated cells.
Related Concept Videos
02:23Master Transcription Regulators
Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
01:22Diversity in Cell Signaling Responses
The physiological function of a cell and cellular communication are outcomes of a range of extrinsic signals, intracellular signaling pathways, and cellular responses. No two cell types express the same repertoire of signaling components. Receptors are highly selective for their cognate ligands, but once activated, they can alter multiple cellular processes such as DNA transcription, protein synthesis, and metabolic activity.
Graded and Abrupt Responses
Some signaling systems generate...
Graded and Abrupt Responses
Some signaling systems generate...
01:26Stem Cell Niche
The stem cell niche is the dynamic microenvironment where stem cells reside. Inside these niches, the cells may remain undifferentiated, undergo high self-renewal, or become lineage-specific progenitors. Stem cells coexist with other niche cells, such as stromal cells. They also interact closely with the ECM. Cell-cell and cell-matrix communication occur via adhesion molecules or soluble factors that signal the stem cells and determine their fate. Stromal cells also provide survival signals to...
01:14Maintenance of the ES Cell State
The cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass only remain pluripotent for a short time. This state of pluripotency and self-renewal can be maintained in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture by adding specific chemicals or growth factors to ensure the cells can continue dividing and later differentiate into different cell types. In some cases, the cells are grown on a feeder layer of differentiated cells, which provides the growth factors and extracellular matrix components necessary for stem cell...
01:28Forced Transdifferentiation
Transdifferentiation, also known as lineage reprogramming, was first discovered by Selman and Kafatos in 1974 in silkmoths. They observed that the moths’ cuticle-producing cells transformed into salt-producing cells. Many such cases of natural transdifferentiation occur in organisms. In humans, pancreatic alpha cells can become beta cells. In newts, the loss of the eye’s lens causes the pigmented epithelial cells to transdifferentiate into the lens cells.
Artificial transdifferentiation occurs...
Artificial transdifferentiation occurs...
00:57Cellular Differentiation
How does a complex organism such as a human develop from a single cell? It all starts from a single fertilized egg which gives rise to a vast array of cell types, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, and epithelial cells that characterize the adult? Throughout development and adulthood, cellular differentiation leads cells to assume their final morphology and physiology. Differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells become specialized to carry out distinct functions.
A zygote is a...
A zygote is a...