Nanog, Sox2, and Oct4 are transcription factors all essential to maintaining the pluripotent embryonic stem cell phenotype. Through a cooperative interaction, Sox2 and Oct4 have previously been described to drive pluripotent-specific expression of a number of genes. We now extend the list of Sox2-Oct4 target genes to include Nanog. Within the Nanog proximal promoter, we identify a composite sox...

The POU-V transcription factor Oct4 is a master regulator of self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic stem (ES) cells as well as an important regulator of lineage commitment in embryonic development. We have shown that Oct4’s ability to regulate selfrenewal in ES cells is related to a conserved function in regulating embryonic differentiation in certain vertebrates. During Xenopus laevis deve...

The octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) and sex-determining region Y (SRY)-box 2 (Sox2) proteins induce various transcriptional regulators to maintain cellular pluripotency. Most Oct4/Sox2 complexes have either 0 base pairs (Oct4/Sox2(0bp)) or 3 base pairs (Oct4/Sox2(3bp)) separation between their DNA-binding sites. Results from previous biochemical studies have shown that the complex...

Pluripotent stem cells offer great therapeutic promise for personalized treatment platforms for numerous injuries, disorders, and diseases. Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) is a key regulatory gene maintaining pluripotency and self-renewal of mammalian cells. With site-specific integration for gene correction in cellular therapeutics, use of the OCT4 promoter may have advantages wh...

Oct4 is a widely recognized pluripotency factor as it maintains Embryonic Stem (ES) cells in a pluripotent state, and, in vivo, prevents the inner cell mass (ICM) in murine embryos from differentiating into trophectoderm. However, its function in somatic tissue after this developmental stage is not well characterized. Using a tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase and floxed alleles of Oct4, we in...

BACKGROUND Overexpression of Oct4, an important transcription factor of embryonic stem cells (ESC), has been reported in several cancers. The aim of this study was to determine the emerging role of Oct4 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) both in vitro and in vivo. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING Tumourigenic activity and molecular mechanisms of Oct4 overexpression or knockdown by lentiviral...

Transforming growth factor (TGF-β)/TGF-β receptor signal is known to promote cell migration. Up-regulation of TGF-β in serum/peritoneal fluid and increased levels of pluripotent transcription factor OCT4 in endometriotic tissues are frequently observed in patients with endometriosis. However, the mechanisms underlying how TGF-β/TGF-β receptor and OCT4 affect endometriotic cell migration still r...

Background and Aim: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is considered to be the most common malignancy in humans and occurs primarily in the skin especially in the head and neck region. Considering the high recurrence rate of the tumor, finding a marker for prediction of recurrence is very important. Cancer stem cells are a small subpopulation in the tumors that are related to tumorigenesis and recurren...

The transcription factor Oct4 plays a pivotal role for the development of mouse preimplantation embryo, and DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) maintains the changes of DNA methylation during mammalian early embryonic development. However, little is known of the role of Oct4 in DNA methylation in mouse. In the present study, Kunming white mice were used as an animal model to elucidate the correlati...