ChIP-chip studies have revealed that many in vivo binding sites have a weak match to the consensus sequence for the transcription factor being analyzed. Possible explanations for these observations include (1) the in vitro-derived consensus site does not represent the in vivo binding site and/or (2) the factor is recruited to a weak binding site via interaction with another protein. To address ...

Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), unique mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) type, exhibit the characteristics of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation capacity. Oct4 and Nanog are pluripotent genes. The aim of this study was to determine the physiological functions of Oct4 and Nanog expression in DPSCs. Herein, we determined the critical role of an Oct4/Nanog axis modulating MSCs proper...

Oct4 plays an essential role in maintaining the inner cell mass and pluripotence of embryonic stem (ES) cells. The expression of Oct4 is regulated by the proximal enhancer and promoter in the epiblast and by the distal enhancer and promoter at all other stages in the pluripotent cell lineage. Here we report that the orphan nuclear receptor LRH-1, which is expressed in undifferentiated ES cells,...

In embryonic stem cells (ESCs), cell cycle regulation is deeply connected to pluripotency. Especially, core transcription factors (CTFs) which are essential to maintaining the pluripotency transcription programs should be reset during M/G1 transition. However, it remains unknown about how CTFs are governed during cell cycle progression. Here, we describe that the regulation of Oct4 by Aurora ki...

Oct4 is a key component of the molecular circuitry which regulates embryonic stem cell proliferation and differentiation. It is essential for maintenance of undifferentiated, pluripotent cell populations, and accomplishes these tasks by binding DNA in multiple heterodimer and homodimer configurations. Very little is known about how formation of these complexes is regulated, or the mechanisms th...

We have examined the effect of retinoic acid (RA) on differentiation of bone marrow-derived CD15(+) , Oct4(+) and CXCR4(+) cells into male germ cells. Bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) were isolated from the femur of 3-4-week-old male C57BL/6 mice. Magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) system was used to sort CD15(+) , Oct4(+) and CXCR4(+) cells. RT-PCR was used to follow the expression of plurip...

Spatiotemporal expression of transcription factors is crucial for genomic reprogramming. Pou5f1 (Oct4) is an essential transcription factor for reprogramming. A recent study reported that OCT4A, which is crucial for establishment and maintenance of pluripotent cells, is expressed in oocytes, but maternal OCT4A is dispensable for totipotency induction. Whereas another study reported that OCT4B, ...

OBJECTIVE Every cell type is characterized by a specific transcriptional profile together with a unique epigenetic landscape. Reprogramming factors such as Oct4, Klf4, Sox2 and c-Myc enable somatic cells to change their transcriptional profile and convert them to pluripotent cells. Small molecules such as BIX-01294, Bay K8644, RG-108 and valproic acid (VPA) are reported as effective molecules f...

The transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is frequently overexpressed in cancerous tissues compared to normal tissues and has regulatory roles in cell proliferation, cell viability, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, metastasis and drug/immune resistance. YY1 shares many properties with cancer stem cells (CSCs) that drive tumorigenesis, metastasis and drug resistance and are regulated by overex...

Octamer 4 (Oct4), a member of the Pit-Oct-Unc transcription factor family required to maintain self-renewal and pluripotency of embryonic stem cells, has been previously identified to be associated with tumorigenesis and malignant transformation of numerous types of cancer including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present data shows that Oct4 enhances cancer stem cell properties and increas...