Concise Review: Oct4 and More: The Reprogramming Expressway

Abstract

Through cellular differentiation, a single cell eventually gives rise to all the various lineages of an organism. This process has traditionally been viewed as irreversible. However, nuclear transfer experiments have demonstrated that differentiated cells can be reprogrammed to form even an entire organism. Yamanaka electrified the world with the discovery that expression of only four transcription factors was sufficient to induce pluripotency in differentiated somatic cells of mammals. Expansion of this work has shown that expression of the master pluripotency gene Oct4 is sufficient to induce pluripotency in neural stem cells. In contrast to somatic cells, germline cells express Oct4 and can acquire pluripotency without the addition of exogenous transcription factors. More recently, it has been possible to also induce an alternative cell fate directly by the transdifferentiation of cells mediated by the introduction of specific transcription factors, including Oct4. Therefore, we suggest that Oct4 is the gatekeeper into a reprogramming expressway that can be directed by altering the experimental conditions. STEM CELLS 2012;30:15-21Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

Sumoylation Is Important for Stability, Subcellular Localization, and Transcriptional Activity of SALL4, an Essential Stem Cell Transcription Factor

“…Transcription factor OCT4 is the master regulator for the maintenance of pluripotency and self-renewal (15). A recent study reveals that OCT4 is phosphorylated on multiple sites and that phosphorylation in its homeobox domain reduces its transactivation activity through interfering with the DNA binding (16).…”

The role of stem cells in the pathogenesis of endometriosis (а review)

“…Идентификация маркеров стволовых клеток в эндометрии человека Являются ли клетки эутопического и эктопиче-ского эндометрия позитивными в отношении марке-ров стволовых клеток? Одним из наиболее изучен-ных маркеров стволовых клеток является Oct-4 -транскрипционный фактор, который участвует в са-мообновлении недифференцированных эмбрио-нальных стволовых клеток [41]. Oct-4 экспрессиру-ется редкими популяциями взрослых стволовых клеток в различных тканях, включая эндометрий че-ловека [6].…”

Generation of pluripotent stem cells without the use of genetic material

“…15,[66][67][68] BIX01294, a G9a HMTase inhibitor, was reported to induce miPSCs in place of Oct4 (Table 2). 69 Furthermore, Forskolin (FSK, cAMP agonist), D4476 (casein kinase 1 inhibitor), and 2-methyl-5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT3 agonist) can replace Oct4 in mouse cells with the aid of other small molecules.…”