TET proteins in natural and induced differentiation.

The ten-eleven-translocation (TET) proteins oxidize 5-methylcytosine in DNA. Alterations in TET protein function have been linked to cancer, but TETs have also been observed to influence many cell differentiation processes. Here we review recent work assessing the contribution of TET proteins to natural and induced differentiation. Altogether these analyses have helped characterize how TETs and their enzymatic products influence DNA methylation patterns, regulatory element activity, DNA binding protein specificity and gene expression.