<span>Cited2 (CBP/p300-interacting transactivator with glutamic acid (E)/aspartic acid (D) rich C-terminaldomain) is a member of the transcription factor modulators family. Cited2 is essential for normal development in mice. Mice with a total knockout (KO) of this gene died within the first 2-3 weeks of development and presented malformations in liver, eye lens, and heart. In the liver Cited2 is known to interact with HNF4-alpha to mediate functions essential for liver development, differentiation and functions. Our main focus is to identify the role of Cited2 in the adult liver by performing in vivo and in vitro experiments. In our in vivo experiment, Cited2 liver specific KO mice were generated followed by analyzing their blood biochemistry and glucose tolerance. Liver </span><span>specific KO mice and wild type mice did not present differences in their blood biochemistry and their body weight. In contrast, a difference in glucose tolerance was observed between KO and wild type mice. In the in vitro experiment, the effect of Cited2 expression on cell proliferation was studied in a human liver cell line, Sk-Hep1. These cells were treated with butyrate (a HDAC inhibitor) and viability was measured by the MTT assay and Cited2 mRNA expression was analyzed using Real Time PCR. The data showed that butyrate (HDAC inhibitor) affects the expression of Cited2 and cell proliferation. Taken together, these results suggest Cited2 may play a role in liver functions in adult mice. More detailed experiments will have to be pursued in order to find specific pathways involved.</span>
