The battlefield of pluripotency.
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.
Smith
Austin
A
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
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
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