Stem cells are defined by the simultaneous possession of the seemingly incongruent properties of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation potential. To maintain a stem cell population, these opposing forces must be balanced. Transcription factors that function to direct pluripotent cell identity are not all equally distributed throughout the pluripotent cell population. While Oct4 levels ...

The embryonic stem cell-like gene expression signature has been shown to be associated with poorly differentiated aggressive human tumors and has attracted great attention as a potential target for future cancer therapies. Here, we investigate the potential of the embryonic stem cell signature as molecular target for the therapy and the strategy to suppress the embryonic stem cell signature. Th...

It has been suggested that the transcription factor Nanog is essential for the establishment of pluripotency during the derivation of embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). However, successful reprogramming to pluripotency with a growing list of divergent transcription factors, at ever-increasing efficiencies, suggests that there may be many distinct routes to a plurip...

Satb1 and the closely related Satb2 proteins regulate gene expression and higher-order chromatin structure of multigene clusters in vivo. In examining the role of Satb proteins in murine embryonic stem (ES) cells, we find that Satb1(-/-) cells display an impaired differentiation potential and augmented expression of the pluripotency determinants Nanog, Klf4, and Tbx3. Metastable states of self-...

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are a type of pluripotent stem cell artificially derived from non-pluripotent cells by overexpressing the transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and Nanog. These transcription factors play a pivotal role in stem cells; however, the function of these factors are not fully characterized. In this study, we analyzed Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and Nanog in ten different sp...

Pluripotency is a transient cellular state during early development which can be recreated in vitro by direct reprogramming. The molecular mechanisms driving entry into and exit from the pluripotent state are the subject of intense research interest. Here, we review the role of the homeodomain-containing transcription factor Nanog in mammalian embryology and induced pluripotency. Nanog was orig...

Urothelial carcinoma is a common malignant neoplasm that has a poor prognosis and a high frequency of recurrence and metastasis. Constant disease surveillance with periodic and long term cystoscopy examination is necessary for management of the disease. However, the monitoring and therapy regimen is expensive, incurring a massive burden to patients and the government. Therefore, the development...

The homeodomain transcription factors Oct4 and Nanog maintain pluripotency and self-renewal in embryonic stem cells. In somatic cells, inappropriate expression of these genes has been associated with loss of differentiation, malignant transformation, and the acquisition of cancer stem cell-like properties. As cancer stem cells have been suggested to underlie the growth and malignancy of tumors,...

A population of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells is characterized by a distribution of Nanog, a gene whose expression is associated with the degree of pluripotency. Cells exhibiting high levels of Nanog maintain a state of pluripotency, while those with low levels are more likely to undergo differentiation. Using a cell line with a fluorescence tag for Nanog enables measurements of the distribut...

BACKGROUND Activation of inflammation-mediated endometrial injury is suggested to play a decisive role in pathogenesis of intrauterine adhesion (IUA). The stem cell theory of endometrial diseases has been given a hotspot, in that human endometrial stem cells have been isolated from the endometrium. Three transcription factors that play key roles in maintaining pluripotency and self-renewal in s...