Undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor 1 is expressed in cells of the inner cell mass and the epiblast. Expression is down-regulated with development, although it is maintained in the embryonic germ cells and in the adult gonads. Reduced expression in embryonic stem cells is associated with failure to differentiate properly, although self-renewal is unaffected. UTF1 is tightly associated with chromatin in mouse and human ESCs and may be involved in maintaining an epigenetic environment necessary for the pluripotent state. Co-expression of UTF1 with reprogramming factors c-Myc, Oct-4, Sox2 and KLF4, along with siRNA knock-down of p53 increased efficiency of induced pluripotent stem cell generation by 100 fold.
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