Oct4 dependence of chromatin structure within the extended Nanog locus in ES cells.

Levasseur DN, Wang J, Dorschner MO, Stamatoyannopoulos JA, Orkin SH.
Genes & development. 2008 Mar 1;22(5):575-80.
Abstract
Embryonic stem (ES) cells offer insight into early developmental fate decisions, and their controlled differentiation may yield vast regenerative potential. The molecular determinants supporting ES cell self-renewal are incompletely understood. The homeodomain proteins Nanog and Oct4 are essential for mouse ES cell self-renewal. Using a high-throughput approach, we discovered DNaseI hypersensitive sites and potential regulatory elements along a 160-kb region of the genome that includes GDF3, Dppa3, and Nanog. We analyzed gene expression, chromatin occupancy, and higher-order chromatin structure throughout this gene locus and found that expression of the reprogramming factor Oct4 is required to maintain its integrity.