Engagement of Foxh1 in chromatin regulation revealed by protein interactome analyses

Precise gene expression patterns, both in time and space, is required for developmental processes to properly progress. Early embryonic cell fates are specified through the coordinated integration of transcription factor activities and epigenetic states of the genome. Foxh1 is a key maternal transcription factor controlling the mesendodermal gene regulatory program. Proteomic interactome analyses using FOXH1 as a bait in mouse embryonic stem cells revealed that FOXH1 interacts with PRC2 subunits and Hdac1. Foxh1 physically interacts with Hdac1, and confers transcriptional repression of mesendodermal genes in the ectoderm. Our findings reveal a central role of Foxh1 in coordinating the chromatin states of the Xenopus embryonic genome. Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-seq data for dissected Xenopus gastrula animal cap (ectoderm) explants of control and Foxh1 morphant embryos