Pesce M, Schöler H R
Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Biologia Cellulare, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata," sezione di Istologia ed Embriologia, Rome, Italy.
Mol Reprod Dev. 2000 Apr;55(4):452-7. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2795(200004)55:4<452::AID-MRD14>3.0.CO;2-S.
The transcription factor Oct-4 is expressed in totipotent embryonic cells and germ cells. As totipotent cells differentiate to form somatic and/or extraembryonic tissues, the Oct-4 gene is downregulated. Primordial germ cells are the only cells in which Oct-4 expression is maintained after postgastrulation. Recent in vivo ablation of the Oct-4 function has shown that the absence of this transcription factor causes early embryonic lethality due to trophectodermal differentiation of cells which normally would give rise to the inner cell mass of the blastocyst. This result strongly suggests that Oct-4 is necessary for the maintenance of the totipotent phenotype of embryonic cells and that this factor likely plays a role as a determinant of the totipotency of germ cells by preventing their differentiation to a somatic cell phenotype during gastrulation. The involvement of Oct-4 in the biology of totipotent and germ cells is here discussed in view of new understanding about Oct-4 function.
转录因子Oct-4在全能胚胎细胞和生殖细胞中表达。随着全能细胞分化形成体细胞和/或胚外组织，Oct-4基因表达下调。原生殖细胞是原肠胚形成后唯一维持Oct-4表达的细胞。最近对Oct-4功能的体内消融表明，缺乏这种转录因子会导致早期胚胎致死，这是由于正常情况下会形成囊胚内细胞团的细胞发生滋养外胚层分化所致。这一结果强烈表明，Oct-4对于维持胚胎细胞的全能表型是必需的，并且该因子可能通过在原肠胚形成过程中防止生殖细胞分化为体细胞表型，而在生殖细胞全能性的决定中发挥作用。鉴于对Oct-4功能的新认识，本文讨论了Oct-4在全能细胞和生殖细胞生物学中的作用。
