Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42432166›Full record

ArticleNature cell biology2026

Decoding stage-specific functions of PRC2 in early embryogenesis uncovers roles in preimplantation development and primordial germ cell fate.

Chengjie Zhou, Meng Wang, Zhiyuan Chen, Yi Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature cell biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Chengjie Zhou *Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Meng Wang *Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1072-7073
Zhiyuan ChenHoward Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6756-1895
Yi ZhangHoward Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. yzhang@genetics.med.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2789-0811

Funding

Understanding the mechanism of pre- to naïve- to formative- pluripotency transitionsR01HD116750 · NICHD · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI Yi Zhang · 2025 to 2026
$1.5M
Genomic and functional analyses of Polycomb group proteins in mouse preimplantation developmentR00HD104902 · NICHD · CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSP MED CTR · PI CHEN, ZHIYUAN · 2023 to 2025
$670k
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Inc.) R00HD104902Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Inc.) R01HD116750Howard Hughes Medical InstituteNICHD NIH HHS R00 HD104902NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD116750
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Early embryogenesis is accompanied by dynamic epigenetic modifications. Although such dynamics are important in cell intrinsic regulation of gene expression, their extrinsic roles in mediating intercellular communication during early embryogenesis are less understood. Here, using the dTAG system, we reveal previously underappreciated stage-specific functions of PRC2 in regulating preimplantation and primordial germ cell (PGC) development. We demonstrate that PRC2 plays important roles in regulating maternal-to-zygotic transition and epiblast formation. By systematically analysing H3K27me3 and H3K4me3 dynamics, we redefine the timing of bivalency establishment and uncover a stepwise mechanism governing bivalency acquisition in early embryogenesis. Moreover, PRC2 regulates proper PGC numbers in the epiblast by controlling Esrrb expression in the extraembryonic ectoderm. Thus, our study uncovers a previously unknown cell-autonomous function of PRC2 in preimplantation development and its non-cell-autonomous impact in PGC number regulation, both through interplays between epigenetic-epigenetic and epigenetic-transcription factors networks.

Indexed as

BlastocystCell LineageEmbryonic DevelopmentGerm CellsPolycomb Repressive Complex 2AnimalsCell DifferentiationEpigenesis, GeneticFemaleGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalGerm LayersHistonesMicehistone H3 trimethyl Lys4HistonesPolycomb Repressive Complex 2

Identifiers

PMID42432166
PMCPMC13431653

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.