Editing Oct-4 (section)

{{Short description|Mammalian protein found in Homo sapiens}}
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{{For|the day|October 4}}
{{Redirect|Oct-3|the day|October 3}}
{{Infobox_gene}}

'''Oct-4''' ([[oligomer|octamer]]-binding [[transcription factor]] 4), also known as '''POU5F1''' ([[POU domain]], class 5, transcription factor 1), is a [[protein]] that in humans is encoded by the ''POU5F1'' [[gene]].<ref name="pmid1408763">{{cite journal | vauthors = Takeda J, Seino S, Bell GI | title = Human Oct3 gene family: cDNA sequences, alternative splicing, gene organization, chromosomal location, and expression at low levels in adult tissues | journal = Nucleic Acids Research | volume = 20 | issue = 17 | pages = 4613–20 | date = September 1992 | pmid = 1408763 | pmc = 334192 | doi = 10.1093/nar/20.17.4613 }}</ref> Oct-4 is a [[homeobox|homeodomain transcription factor]] of the [[POU family]]. It is critically involved in the [[stem cell self-renewal|self-renewal]] of undifferentiated [[embryonic stem cell]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Boyer LA, Lee TI, Cole MF, Johnstone SE, Levine SS, Zucker JP, Guenther MG, Kumar RM, Murray HL, Jenner RG, Gifford DK, Melton DA, Jaenisch R, Young RA | title = Core transcriptional regulatory circuitry in human embryonic stem cells | journal = Cell | volume = 122 | issue = 6 | pages = 947–956 | date = September 2005 | pmid = 16153702 | pmc = 3006442 | doi = 10.1016/j.cell.2005.08.020 | publisher = Elsevier BV }}
</ref> As such, it is frequently used as a [[biomarker (cell)|marker]] for undifferentiated cells. Oct-4 expression must be closely regulated; too much or too little will cause differentiation of the cells.<ref name="pmid10742100">{{cite journal | vauthors = Niwa H, Miyazaki J, Smith AG | title = Quantitative expression of Oct-3/4 defines differentiation, dedifferentiation or self-renewal of ES cells | journal = Nature Genetics | volume = 24 | issue = 4 | pages = 372–6 | date = April 2000 | pmid = 10742100 | doi = 10.1038/74199 | s2cid = 33012290 }}</ref>

	Octamer-binding transcription factor 4, OCT-4, is a transcription factor protein that is encoded by the ''POU5F1'' gene and is part of the [[POU domain#Etymology|POU (Pit-Oct-Unc) family]].<ref>Zeineddine, Dana et al. "The Oct4 protein: more than a magic stemness marker." American journal of stem cells vol. 3,2 74-82. 5 Sep. 2014</ref> OCT-4 consists of an octamer motif, a particular DNA sequence of AGTCAAAT that binds to their target genes and activates or deactivates certain expressions. These gene expressions then lead to phenotypic changes in stem cell differentiation during the development of a mammalian embryo.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pan GJ, Chang ZY, Schöler HR, Pei D | title = Stem cell pluripotency and transcription factor Oct4 | journal = Cell Research | volume = 12 | issue = 5–6 | pages = 321–329 | date = December 2002 | pmid = 12528890 | doi = 10.1038/sj.cr.7290134 | publisher = Springer Science and Business Media LLC | s2cid = 2982527 | doi-access = free }}</ref> It plays a vital role in determining the fates of both inner mass cells and embryonic stem cells and has the ability to maintain pluripotency throughout embryonic development.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wu G, Schöler HR | title = Role of Oct4 in the early embryo development | journal = Cell Regeneration | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | page = 7 | year = 2014 | pmid = 25408886 | pmc = 4230828 | doi = 10.1186/2045-9769-3-7 | publisher = Springer Science and Business Media LLC | doi-access = free }}</ref> Recently, it has been noted that OCT-4 not only maintains pluripotency in embryonic cells but also has the ability to regulate cancer cell proliferation and can be found in various cancers such as pancreatic, lung, liver and testicular germ cell tumors in adult germ cells.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Saha SK, Jeong Y, Cho S, Cho SG | title = Systematic expression alteration analysis of master reprogramming factor OCT4 and its three pseudogenes in human cancer and their prognostic outcomes | journal = Scientific Reports | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | page = 14806 | date = October 2018 | pmid = 30287838 | pmc = 6172215 | doi = 10.1038/s41598-018-33094-7 | publisher = Springer Science and Business Media LLC | bibcode = 2018NatSR...814806S }}</ref> Another defect this gene can have is dysplastic growth in epithelial tissues which are caused by a lack of  OCT-4 within the epithelial cells.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hochedlinger K, Yamada Y, Beard C, Jaenisch R | title = Ectopic expression of Oct-4 blocks progenitor-cell differentiation and causes dysplasia in epithelial tissues | journal = Cell | volume = 121 | issue = 3 | pages = 465–477 | date = May 2005 | pmid = 15882627 | doi = 10.1016/j.cell.2005.02.018 | publisher = Elsevier BV | s2cid = 1913872 | doi-access = free }}</ref>