Heterochromatin Protein ERH represses alternative cell fates during early mammalian differentiation [RNA-Seq]

We investigate the role of ERH in the regulation of H3K9me3 domains which impede transcription factor binding and gene activation in mouse preimplantation, human ESC differentiation, and human fibroblast reprogramming. To investigate the role of ERH in gene repression we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Mouse blastocysts injected with either non-targeting siRNAs or ERH targeting siRNAs at the 1 cell stage. H1 human embryonic stem cells treated with either non-targeting siRNAs or ERH targeting siRNAs then cultured in pluripotency conditions, 1 day of endoderm differentiation, and 2 days of ectoderm differentiation. Human BJ fibroblasts treated with either non-targeting siRNAs or ERH targeting siRNAs then reprogrammed with Sendai virus to express OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC; collected 48 hours post infection.