Monoclonal Anti- Octamer-binding transcription factor 4, OCT-4 antibody

Oct-4 (octamer-binding transcription factor 4) also known as POU5F1 (POU domain, class 5, transcription factor 1) is a homeodomain transcription factor of the POU family. This protein is critically involved in the self-renewal of undifferentiated embryonic stem cells.[1]As such, it is frequently used as a marker for undifferentiated cells.A critical amount of Oct3/4 is required to sustain stem cell self-renewal, and up- or downregulation induces divergent developmental programs.[2]It has also been showed that Oct3 has a role in cardiac development in the early mouse embryo.[3]Oct-4 expression must be closely regulated; too much or too little will cause differentiation of the cells.[4]

Young Lab- Core Transcriptional Regulatory Circuitry in Human Embryonic Stem Cells at MIT. Niwa, H., Miyazaki, J., Smith, A. G. Quantitative expression of Oct-3/4 defines differentiation, dedifferentiation or self-renewal of ES cells. Nature Genet. 24: 372-376, 2000. Zeineddine, D., Papadimou, E., Chebli, K., Gineste, M., Liu, J., Grey, C., Thurig, S., Behfar, A., Wallace, V. A., Skerjanc, I. S., Puceat, M. Oct-3/4 dose dependently regulates specification of embryonic stem cells toward a cardiac lineage and early heart development. Dev. Cell 11: 535-546, 2006. Niwa H, Miyazaki J, Smith AG (April 2000) . "Quantitative expression of Oct-3/4 defines differentiation, dedifferentiation or self-renewal of ES cells". Nat. Genet. 24 (4) : 372–6.