FOXA2 is required for enhancer priming during pancreatic differentiation Journal Article


Authors: Lee, K.; Cho, H.; Rickert, R. W.; Li, Q. V.; Pulecio, J.; Leslie, C. S.; Huangfu, D.
Article Title: FOXA2 is required for enhancer priming during pancreatic differentiation
Abstract: Transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of lineage priming in embryonic development are largely uncharacterized because of the difficulty of isolating transient progenitor populations. Directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) combined with gene editing provides a powerful system to define precise temporal gene requirements for progressive chromatin changes during cell fate transitions. Here, we map the dynamic chromatin landscape associated with sequential stages of pancreatic differentiation from hPSCs. Our analysis of chromatin accessibility dynamics led us to uncover a requirement for FOXA2, known as a pioneer factor, in human pancreas specification not previously shown from mouse knockout studies. FOXA2 knockout hPSCs formed reduced numbers of pancreatic progenitors accompanied by impaired recruitment of GATA6 to pancreatic enhancers. Furthermore, FOXA2 is required for proper chromatin remodeling and H3K4me1 deposition during enhancer priming. This work highlights the power of combining hPSC differentiation, genome editing, and computational genomics for discovering transcriptional mechanisms during development. Lee et al. use ATAC-seq to identify key transcriptional factors involved in human pancreatic differentiation. FOXA2 knockout human pluripotent stem cells showed impaired differentiation to pancreatic progenitors, a phenotype not observed in Foxa2 conditional knockout mice. Furthermore, FOXA2 is required for proper chromatin remodeling and H3K4me1 deposition during enhancer priming. © 2019 The Author(s)
Keywords: human embryonic stem cells; pdx1; human pluripotent stem cells; foxa1; gata6; nucleosome remodeling; hpscs; atac-seq and chromatin accessibility; enhancer priming and activation; foxa2; hescs; pancreatic progenitors
Journal Title: Cell Reports
Volume: 28
Issue: 2
ISSN: 2211-1247
Publisher: Cell Press  
Date Published: 2019-07-09
Start Page: 382
End Page: 393.e7
Language: English
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.06.034
PUBMED: 31291575
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC6636862
DOI/URL:
Notes: Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Danwei Huangfu
    54 Huangfu
  2. Christina Leslie
    187 Leslie
  3. Qing Li
    13 Li
  4. Hyein Cho
    12 Cho
  5. Kihyun Lee
    3 Lee