REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. T Cell Biology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1584181

This article is part of the Research TopicExploring KLF4's Role in Immune Cell Function and Disease ProgressionView all 5 articles

The reprogramming factor KLF4 in normal and malignant blood cells

Provisionally accepted
  • Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is an evolutionarily conserved zinc finger transcription factor that regulates cellular processes in stem cells, epithelial cells, and immune blood cells by controlling gene expression through genetic, epigenetic, and chromatin remodeling. The landmark 2006 publication identified KLF4 as one of the factors involved in reprogramming differentiated cells into pluripotent stem cells, sparking increased interest in KLF4 research a decade after its discovery, particularly in the fields of stem cell research, epithelial cell biology, endothelial cell function, and tumorigenesis. Over the years, KLF4 has emerged as a key transcription factor in modulating innate and adaptive immunity, especially in macrophage differentiation and function. This review summarizes the key findings regarding KLF4 in normal blood cells and leukemia.

Keywords: KLF4, Hematopoietic Stem Cells, T cells, Leukemia, transcription factor

Received: 26 Feb 2025; Accepted: 26 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Lacorazza. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Daniel Lacorazza, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, United States

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