Most genes considered master regulators code for transcription factor proteins, which in turn alter the expression of downstream genes in the pathway.
[1] Canonical examples of master regulators include Oct-4 (also called POU5F1), SOX2, and NANOG, all transcription factors involved in maintaining pluripotency in stem cells.
[1] Master regulators involved in development and morphogenesis can also appear as oncogenes relevant to tumorigenesis and metastasis, as with the Twist transcription factor.
[2] Other genes reported as master regulators code for SR proteins, which function as splicing factors,[3] and some noncoding RNAs.
[4] The master regulator concept has been criticized for being a "simplified paradigm" that fails to account for the multifactorial influences on some cell fates.