In this study, we used a human embryonal carcinoma cell line, NTera-2, to develop a model that induces the differentiation of these cells into an astrocyte-like lineage. NTera-2 is derived from a human teratocarcinoma which shares many characteristics of neuroepithelial precursor cells and is widely used as a tool to study the early development of the human CNS and identify new genes involved in neurogenesis [23] [24] [25] . We also used this system to investigate the mechanisms underlying GFAP activation. We identified components of the Sin3A-HDAC complex coupled with MeCP2 present at the GFAP promoter under undifferentiated conditions. Upon differentiation, the promoter underwent a conformational change triggered by STAT3 binding, which contributes to CBP/p300-mediated histone modification and assembly of a transcription preinitiation complex, resulting in GFAP gene activation.