The zinc-finger protein POGZ associates with Polycomb repressive complex 1 to regulate BMP signaling during neuronal differentiation

Summary (Preprint): Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) plays a key role in epigenetic regulation of development. This work identifies POGZ as a novel component of PRC1.6 in mammalian cells, forming a PRC1.6–POGZ complex. Using biochemical assays, the authors show that POGZ interacts with PRC1.6 members and is required for transcriptional repression of targets in the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway during neuronal differentiation. POGZ loss leads to de-repression of BMP pathway genes, resulting in enhanced BMP signaling and defects in neural differentiation. These findings position POGZ as a bridge between chromatin modifiers (PRC1.6) and developmental signaling pathways (BMP), providing a mechanistic link to how POGZ mutations might disrupt neurodevelopment. (This is a preprint; a peer-reviewed version was later published in Stem Cell Reviews and Reports in 2026, confirming these results.)