ReviewGenes & development2011
Pioneer transcription factors: establishing competence for gene expression.
Review in Genes & development, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1,003 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1,003 citing papers in PubMed, 1,608 citations in OpenAlex.
- Epigenetic Analysis in Ewing Sarcoma.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2027Article
- Epigenetic reprogramming of lineage switching in cancer.FEBS letters · 2026Review
- Terfa Safeguards GABAergic Inhibition and Neuronal Excitability in Zebrafish Through a Foxj3-Linked Transcriptional Mechanism.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Article
- In Vivo Direct Reprogramming: Current Progress and Future Prospects from Mechanisms to Therapeutic Application.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Fusion Oncoprotein EWSR1::FLI1 Invades Nucleosomes at Consensus ETS Motifs and GGAA Microsatellites.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- An atlas of transcription factor cooperation reveals how motif readers shape regulatory output.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Chromatin Accessibility Reveals Adaptive Regulatory Variation in a Keystone Freshwater Fish.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Systematic comparison of estimates of transcription factor activity by ATAC-seq and multiplexed reporter assays.Molecular systems biology · 2026Article
- Article
- A chromatin-informed transcriptional regulatory framework to stratify patients and guide therapy selection in triple-negative breast cancer.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Extensive binding of poorly characterized human transcription factors to genomic dark matter.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Foxe1 deficiency impairs thyroid fate while supporting lung differentiation.EMBO reports · 2026Article
- Memory encoding reprograms neuronal transcriptional responses via durable chromatin remodeling.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The cardiac 4D nucleome: nuclear and chromatin dynamics across development, disease and ageing.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2026Review
- A CRISPR interference system for tunable gene expression integrated with a promoter library forMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- HNF4α controls growth, identity, and KRAS inhibitor response in invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Nuclear-specific reductive carboxylation of alpha-ketoglutarate fuels histone acetylation to induce chromatin accessibility and gene activation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- RUNX1 is a mediator of fibrotic activation and epigenetic memory in lung fibroblasts.American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology · 2026Article
- Systemic degradation of repressive transcription factors gates gene expression and cell fate specification.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Intrinsic DNA codes govern distinct modes of nucleosome-transcription factor interactions.Nature communications · 2026Article
943 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Transcription factors are adaptor molecules that detect regulatory sequences in the DNA and target the assembly of protein complexes that control gene expression. Yet much of the DNA in the eukaryotic cell is in nucleosomes and thereby occluded by histones, and can be further occluded by higher-order chromatin structures and repressor complexes. Indeed, genome-wide location analyses have revealed that, for all transcription factors tested, the vast majority of potential DNA-binding sites are unoccupied, demonstrating the inaccessibility of most of the nuclear DNA. This raises the question of how target sites at silent genes become bound de novo by transcription factors, thereby initiating regulatory events in chromatin. Binding cooperativity can be sufficient for many kinds of factors to simultaneously engage a target site in chromatin and activate gene expression. However, in cases in which the binding of a series of factors is sequential in time and thus not initially cooperative, special "pioneer transcription factors" can be the first to engage target sites in chromatin. Such initial binding can passively enhance transcription by reducing the number of additional factors that are needed to bind the DNA, culminating in activation. In addition, pioneer factor binding can actively open up the local chromatin and directly make it competent for other factors to bind. Passive and active roles for the pioneer factor FoxA occur in embryonic development, steroid hormone induction, and human cancers. Herein we review the field and describe how pioneer factors may enable cellular reprogramming.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.