title: Direct interaction between Id1 and Zrf1 controls neural differentiation of embryonic stem cells.
abstract: Id proteins are dominant-negative regulators within the HLH family of proteins. In embryonic stem cells (ESCs), Id1 and Id3 maintain the pluripotent state by preventing neural differentiation. The Id1-interacting protein Zrf1 plays a crucial role as a chromatin-bound factor in specification of the neural fate from ESCs. Here, we show that Id1 blocks Zrf1 recruitment to chromatin, thus preventing the activation of neural genes in ESCs. Upon differentiation, Id1 expression decreases thus inducing Zrf1 binding to neural genes. Importantly, depletion of Zrf1 rescues the expression of Polycomb targets involved in neural specification which are up-regulated in Id1 knock-out ESCs. We therefore identified Zrf1 as transcriptional regulator of neural fate downstream of Id1 in ESCs.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain luigi.aloia@crg.eu luciano.dicroce@crg.eu.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aloia
authors.affiliation: Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Arantxa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Animal de Laboratorio, PRBB, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Martin
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Caballero
authors.affiliation: Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain luigi.aloia@crg.eu luciano.dicroce@crg.eu.
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Croce
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D051798:Inhibitor of Differentiation Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D063146:Polycomb-Group Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C414672:DNAJC2 protein, human; C497455:Idb1 protein, mouse; D051798:Inhibitor of Differentiation Protein 1; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D063146:Polycomb-Group Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins
keywords: Id1; Polycomb; epigenetics; neural development