Klf4 gene disruption is linked to enhanced cellular proliferation and tumor formation

Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is involved in diverse biological processes such as cell cycle control, differentiation, transcriptional regulation, DNA repair and apoptosis. Furthermore, KLF4 is a tumor suppressor and play a role in regulating genomic stability. In order to investigate the changes in gene expression in the klf4 null MEFs, we compared the gene expression patterns of the wild type and klf4 null by microarray. Total RNA isolated from Klf4 -/- MEFs compared to Klf4 +/+ MEFs. RNA was processed from cells that had reached 80-90 confluency in triplicate using Trizol reagent as recommended by the manufacturer (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). RNA was subjected to DNase I treatment in order to remove any contaminating genomic DNA. Final purification was performed on RNAeasy columns (Qiagen, Valencia, CA), according to the manufacturer's recommendations.