Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41911462›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

Versatile SMAD2 and SMAD3 epitope-tagged mouse models for genomic profiling of TGFβ signaling: Uncovering GDF9-SMAD2/3 targets.

Zian Liao, Qian Zhang, Keisuke Shimada, Kaori Nozawa, Suni Tang, Masahito Ikawa, Diana Monsivais, Martin M Matzuk

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Zian LiaoDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.ORCID 0000-0002-7198-2182
Qian ZhangResearch Institute for Microbial Diseases, University of Osaka, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Keisuke ShimadaResearch Institute for Microbial Diseases, University of Osaka, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-3739-7163
Kaori NozawaDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.
Suni TangDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.
Masahito IkawaResearch Institute for Microbial Diseases, University of Osaka, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-9859-6217
Diana MonsivaisDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.ORCID 0000-0001-5660-6392
Martin M MatzukDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.ORCID 0000-0002-1445-8632

Funding

Cardiovascular Research and Drug Development (CRDD) training programT32HL170967 · NHLBI · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI Xander H.T. Wehrens, Damian Winston Young · 2024 to 2026
$830k
Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) NGP10125HHS | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) HD032067HHS | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) HD099341HHS | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) HD105800HHS | NIH | National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) T32HL170967
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling pathways are integral for a plethora of biological processes. SMAD2 and SMAD3 are the principal transcriptional effectors of TGFβ superfamily ligands, yet quantitative, genome-wide mapping of their DNA-associated complexes under physiological contexts has remained limited due to the lack of specific, robust models. Here, we generated two versatile epitope-tagged mouse models in which endogenous SMAD2 and SMAD3 proteins are globally tagged with hemagglutinin (HA) and podoplanin (PA) sequences, respectively, enabling high-fidelity profiling of SMAD2 and SMAD3 binding across tissues. To demonstrate the broad application of our models, we exemplified the usage of our lines in ovarian biology, where we defined the transcriptional programs downstream of GDF9, a key oocyte-derived ligand in folliculogenesis from the TGFβ superfamily. By integrating genomic and transcriptomic analyses, we identified direct genes induced by the GDF9-SMAD2/3 axis and identified gene sets suppressed by this signaling cascade, highlighting a previously underappreciated role of GDF9 in attenuating competing pathways to ensure proper ovarian granulosa cell fate transitions. Short-term GDF9 stimulation shifts SMAD2/3 cofactor recruitment toward lineage- and differentiation-associated transcription factors, without significant global changes in H3K27ac landscapes, indicating that GDF9 signals through targeted SMAD recruitment to preacetylated chromatin regions. Network analyses further demonstrated that GDF9-SMAD2/3 direct targets align with luteinizing hormone-driven preovulatory signaling. Together, our study generated epitope-tagged mouse models that provide extensive and applicable in vivo genetic toolkits for tissue-specific dissection of TGFβ family signaling and reveal a comprehensive, direct transcriptional network through which GDF9 coordinates granulosa cell differentiation and follicular maturation.

Indexed as

Growth Differentiation Factor 9Signal TransductionSmad2 ProteinSmad3 ProteinTransforming Growth Factor betaAnimalsEpitopesFemaleGene Expression ProfilingGranulosa CellsMiceOvaryEpitopesGdf9 protein, mouseGrowth Differentiation Factor 9Smad2 ProteinSmad2 protein, mouseSmad3 ProteinSmad3 protein, mouseTransforming Growth Factor betaGDF9granulosa cellsoocyte secreted factorsSMADsTGFβ

Identifiers

PMID41911462
PMCPMC13056123

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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.