Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42660118›Full record

ArticleStem cell reports2026

CRISPR activation reveals SOX5/6/9 as key transcriptional regulators directing iPSC-derived cells toward a notochordal lineage.

Xiaole Tong, Marieke Visscher, Frank M Riemers, Danielle Versluis, Niels Geijsen, Peng Shang, Marianna A Tryfonidou, Deepani W Poramba-Liyanage

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Stem cell reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Xiaole TongDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 108, 3584 CM Utrecht, the Netherlands; Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Marieke VisscherNTrans Technologies BV, J. H. Oortweg 19, 2333 CH Leiden, the Netherlands.
Frank M RiemersDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 108, 3584 CM Utrecht, the Netherlands; Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Danielle VersluisDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 108, 3584 CM Utrecht, the Netherlands; Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Niels GeijsenDepartment of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Einthovenweg 20, 2300 RC Leiden, the Netherlands; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW), Leiden node, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Peng ShangDepartment of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Einthovenweg 20, 2300 RC Leiden, the Netherlands; The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW), Leiden node, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Marianna A TryfonidouDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 108, 3584 CM Utrecht, the Netherlands; Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: m.a.tryfonidou@uu.nl.
Deepani W Poramba-LiyanageDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 108, 3584 CM Utrecht, the Netherlands; Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands. Electronic address: deepsliyanage@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration, a leading cause of chronic lower back pain, is associated with loss of vacuolated notochordal cells (NCs) and fibrotic remodeling of the nucleus pulposus. Emerging therapies increasingly focus on NCs, which are rare but therapeutically relevant cells for regenerating degenerated IVDs. In this study, we used CRISPR-based transactivation (CRISPRa) to direct the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into the NC lineage. We tested CRISPRa-mediated activation of NOTO, TBXT, FOXA2, SOX5, SOX6, and SOX9, coupled with single-cell sequencing of Aggrecan-2A-mScarlet reporter iPSCs. This approach identified the SOX5/6/9 combination (SOX-trio) as critical for promoting NC lineage commitment. The SOX-trio yielded the largest cell population expressing a range of genes previously associated with NC identity, including SHH, FOXA1, FOXA2, FOXJ1, FN1, ALCAM, KRT8, and KRT18. Our study demonstrates the integration of CRISPRa with single-cell technologies as a powerful platform for investigating and enriching iPSC-derived NCs, supporting future regenerative strategies across various fields.

Indexed as

Cell LineageClustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic RepeatsCRISPR-Cas SystemsInduced Pluripotent Stem CellsNotochordSOX9 Transcription FactorSOXD Transcription FactorsCell DifferentiationGene Expression RegulationHumansSOX9 Transcription FactorSOXD Transcription FactorsCRISPR activationintervertebral disc degenerationiPSCsnotochordal cellsSOX5/6/9

Identifiers

PMID42660118
PMCPMC13555567

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.