Figure 1
From: Transcriptomic analysis of pluripotent stem cells: insights into health and disease
The embryonic stem cell transcriptional regulatory circuit. The embryonic stem cell (ESC) transcription factors Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog form an autoregulatory network by binding their own promoters as well as promoters of the other core members. These three core factors maintain an ESC gene expression profile by occupying: (1) actively transcribed genes, such as ESC-specific transcription factors; (2) signaling transcription factors; (3) chromatin modifiers; (4) ESC-associated microRNA (miRNA); and (5) other non-coding RNA, such as long intergenic non-coding RNA (lincRNA). Conversely, Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog, in concert with Polycomb group proteins (PcG), bind lineage-specific and non-coding RNA genes, such as Xist, to repress lineage gene expression and inhibit ESC differentiation.