Approach and Results- We screened various combinations of transcription factors, including Myocd (myocardin), Mef2C (myocyte enhancer factor 2C), Mef2B (myocyte enhancer factor 2B), Mkl1 (MKL [megakaryoblastic leukemia]/Myocd-like 1), Gata4 (GATA-binding protein 4), Gata5 (GATA-binding protein 5), Gata6 (GATA-binding protein 6), Ets1 (E26 avian leukemia oncogene 1, 5' domain), and their corresponding carboxyterminal fusions to the transactivation domain of MyoD (myogenic differentiation 1)-indicated by *-for their effects on reprogramming mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human adult dermal fibroblasts to the smooth muscle cell fate as determined by the expression of specific markers.
Accordingly, a comparison of murine wt and Socs2(-/-) HSC gene expression in response to 5-FU revealed a significant overlap with the molecular programs that correlate with SOCS2 expression in leukemias, particularly with the oncogenic pathways and with the IKZF1/Ikaros and MEF2C-predicted targets.