title: The battlefield of pluripotency.
abstract: How embryonic stem cells maintain the potential to differentiate into multiple cell lineages is still unclear. In this issue of Cell, Niwa et al. (2005) show that a duel between the transcription factors Oct3/4 and Cdx2 can restrict embryonic stem cells to either embryonic or placental fate. The vulnerability of lineage potential to transcriptional perturbation may reflect an essential feature of pluripotency.
authors.affiliation: Centre Development in Stem Cell Biology, Institute for Stem Cell Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JQ, United Kingdom. austin.smith@ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Austin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000071616:CDX2 Transcription Factor; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D019070:Cell Lineage; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000378:metabolism; D027701:Organic Cation Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D000099254:Organic Cation Transporter 3
chemical_list: D000071616:CDX2 Transcription Factor; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; D027701:Organic Cation Transport Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000099254:Organic Cation Transporter 3; C487514:Cdx2 protein, mouse; C494174:Pou5f1 protein, mouse