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Updated: Aug 18, 2025

A Simple Method to Identify Kinases That Regulate Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency by High-throughput Inhibitor Screening
Published on: May 12, 2017
KLF4 inhibits early neural differentiation of ESCs by coordinating specific 3D chromatin structure
Jinfang Bi1, Wenbin Wang1, Meng Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Frontiers Science Center for Cell Responses, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, 300071 Tianjin, China.
Abstract:
Neural differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) requires precisely orchestrated gene regulation, a process governed in part by changes in 3D chromatin structure. How these changes regulate gene expression in this context remains unclear. In this study, we observed enrichment of the transcription factor KLF4 at some poised or closed enhancers at TSS-linked regions of genes associated with neural differentiation. Combination analysis of ChIP, HiChIP and RNA-seq data indicated that KLF4 loss in ESCs induced changes in 3D chromatin structure, including increased chromatin interaction loops between neural differentiation-associated genes and active enhancers, leading to upregulated expression of neural differentiation-associated genes and therefore early neural differentiation. This study suggests KLF4 inhibits early neural differentiation by regulation of 3D chromatin structure, which is a new mechanism of early neural differentiation.
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