Scientists have identified the function of Sall4, a protein important in early development and a hallmark of many cancers.
In their paper, published in Development, they show that Sall4 functions to control gene expression in early embryonic cells, controlling their entry into the neural lineage. It is proposed that Sall4 acts to ensure only the right genes are expressed at the right times during development of pluripotent cells.
Publication details: Anzy Miller, Meryem Ralser, Susan L Kloet, Remco Loos, Ryuichi Nishinakamura, Paul Bertone, Michiel Vermeulen, and Brian Hendrich. Sall4 controls differentiation of pluripotent cells independently of the Nucleosome Remodelling and Deacetylation (NuRD) complex. Development. 2016 Jul 28. pii: dev.139113. [Epub ahead of print]