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Proclaiming fate in the early mouse embryo

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In the mouse embryo, the first differences between cells that result in distinct lineages have long been thought to arise only as a consequence of differential cell positioning at relatively late preimplantation stages. Differences in Oct4 transcription factor kinetics between cells at the 4–8-cell stage are now shown to be predictive of future lineages, providing further evidence for much earlier initiation of cell fate decisions.

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Figure 1: Oct4 kinetics at the 4–8 cell stage influence cell fate decisions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz is in the Gurdon Institute, The Henry Wellcome Building of Cancer and Developmental Biology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QR, UK. m.zernicka-goetz@gurdon.cam.ac.uk,

    Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz

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  1. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
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Zernicka-Goetz, M. Proclaiming fate in the early mouse embryo. Nat Cell Biol 13, 112–114 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0211-112

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