PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Yankun Gao
AU  - Debarghya Dutta Banik
AU  - Stefan G. E. Roberts
AU  - Kathryn F. Medler
TI  - The WT1-BASP1 complex is required to maintain the differentiated state of taste receptor cells
AID  - 10.1101/460816
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 460816
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/12/01/460816.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/12/01/460816.full
AB  - The WT1-BASP1 complex is a transcriptional repressor that is involved in cell differentiation; however, the mechanisms underlying its effects are not well-characterized in vivo. In the peripheral taste system which endogenously expresses these proteins, BASP1 co-expression with WT1 begins at the end of development, suggesting a role for the WT1-BASP1 complex in terminal cell differentiation within this system. Using a conditional BASP1 mouse, we demonstrate that BASP1 is critical to maintain the differentiated state of adult cells by inhibiting the activation of WT1-dependent target genes. Our results uncover a central role for the WT1-BASP1 complex in maintaining cell differentiation.