Anti-Human/Mouse OCT3/4 Alexa Fluor® 488

Description: The EM92 monoclonal antibody reacts with mouse and human Oct-3/4, encoded by the Pou5F1 gene. Oct-3/4 is a POU domain-containing transcription factor that is critical for maintaining embryonic stem (ES) cells in a pluripotent state, and is expressed by ES, embryonic germ cells and embryonic carcinoma cell lines. In cells of the inner cell mass (ICM), reduction of Oct-3/4 expression causes dedifferentiation to trophoectoderm, whereas increased expression results in differentiation to mesoderm and primitive endoderm. Oct-3/4 regulates the expression of several genes, including FGF-4, UTF1, Sox2, Fbx15, Rex1 and osteopontin through distinct mechanisms. Furthermore, Oct-3/4 frequently acts synergistically with Sox2 to regulate target gene expression, as is the case with FGF-4. It has been demonstrated that Oct-3/4 expression in ES cells can be negatively regulated by either treatment with retinoic acid, or by removal of leukemia-inhibitory factor (LIF).

References: Okamoto K, Okazawa H, Okuda A, Sakai M, Muramatsu M, Hamada H. A novel octamer binding transcription factor is differentially expressed in mouse embryonic cells. Cell. 1990 Feb 9;60(3):461-72.

Pikarsky E, Sharir H, Ben-Shushan E, Bergman Y. Retinoic acid represses Oct-3/4 gene expression through several retinoic acid-responsive elements located in the promoter-enhancer region. Mol Cell Biol. 1994 Feb;14(2):1026-38.

Takahashi K, Tanabe K, Ohnuki M, Narita M, Ichisaka T, Tomoda K, Yamanaka S.Induction of pluripotent stem cells from adult human fibroblasts by defined factors.Cell. 2007 Nov 30;131(5):861-72