"The availability of this large combinatorial network of transcription factors will provide scientists with many opportunities to study gene regulation, tissue differentiation and evolution in mammals," said Ideker, professor in the Department of Medicine and at UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering. He added that analysis of the network shows that highly connected TFs are broadly expressed across tissues, and that roughly half of the interactions are conserved between mouse and human.

The researcher team identified nearly 1,000 different pairs of TF proteins that can be wired together, representing the blueprint of all possible combinations that direct gene expression in mammals. The work may provide researchers with the clues necessary to one day determine how stem cells can be reprogrammed into a particular organ or tissue type.

The research team comprised 41 scientists from 17 different institutions around the world led by UC San Diego, the RIKEN Institute in Japan, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. Members of UC San Diego were supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center were supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

SOURCE UC San Diego