Creb5 establishes the competence for Prg4 expression in articular cartilage

Zhang et al. identify Creb5 as a transcription factor that is required for induction of Prg4 expression by TGFbeta and EGFR ligands. They show that Creb5 directly binds to two Prg4 promoter-proximal regulatory elements, working together with a more distal regulatory element to drive induction of Prg4 by TGFbeta. These findings provide new insight into the molecular regulation of Prg4 expression in superficial zone articular chondrocytes. Overall design: We conducted RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, experiments using bovine superficial zone articular chondrocytes (SZC) and deep zone articular chondrocytes (DZC).