Forced expression of OCT4 influences the expression of pluripotent genes in human mesenchymal stem cells and fibroblasts.

Genetic reprogramming of adult cells to generate induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells is a new and important step in sidestepping some of the ethical issues and risks involved in the use of embryonic stem cells. iPS cells can be generated by introduction of transcription factors, such as OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and CMYC. iPS cells resemble embryonic stem cells in their properties and differentiation potential. The mechanisms that lead to induced pluripotency and the effect of each transcription factor are not completely understood. We performed a critical evaluation of the effect of overexpressing OCT4 in mesenchymal stem cells and fibroblasts and found that OCT4 can activate the expression of other stemness genes, such as SOX2, NANOG, CMYC, FOXD3, KLF4, and βCATENIN, which are not normally or are very weakly expressed in mesenchymal stem cells. Transient expression of OCT4 was also performed to evaluate whether these genes are affected by its overexpression in the first 48 h. Transfected fibroblast cells expressed around 275-fold more OCT4 than non-transfected cells. In transient expression, in which cells were analyzed after 48 h, we detected only the up-regulation of FOXD3, SOX2, and KLF4 genes, suggesting that these genes are the earlier targets of OCT4 in this cellular type. We conclude that forced expression of OCT4 can alter cell status and activate the pluripotent network. Knowledge gained through study of these systems may help us to understand the kinetics and mechanism of cell reprogramming.