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Updated: Aug 9, 2025

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Reprogramming Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts with Transcription Factors to Induce a Hemogenic Program
Published on: December 16, 2016
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Physiological reprogramming in vivo mediated by Sox4 pioneer factor activity
Takeshi Katsuda1,2,3, Jonathan Sussman1,2,3, Kenji Ito1,4
1Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|February 24, 2023
Summary
Sox4 initiates liver cell metaplasia by first silencing hepatocyte genes and then activating biliary genes. This study reveals the molecular hierarchy driving cell fate transitions in animal tissues.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Tissue damage can induce cell fate switching via metaplasia.
- The mechanisms silencing original cell fates and activating new ones in vivo remain unclear.
- Pioneer transcription factors in cell culture can reprogram cells by altering chromatin accessibility.
Conclusions:
- Sox4 orchestrates cell fate transition by a sequential mechanism of silencing and activation.
- This study reveals a hierarchy in gene network reprogramming during physiological cell fate changes.
- Provides insights into the molecular basis of cell fate transitions in animal models.
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