Lin Huey, Shabbir Arsalan, Molnar Merced, Lee Techung
Department of Biochemistry, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Mar 30;355(1):111-6. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.01.106. Epub 2007 Jan 29.
Multiple pseudogenes have been proposed for embryonic stem (ES) cell-specific genes, and their abundance suggests that some of these potential pseudogenes may be functional. ES cell-specific expression of Oct4 regulates stem cell pluripotency and self-renewing state. Although Oct4 expression has been reported in adult tissues during gene reprogramming, the detected Oct4 signal might be contributed by Oct4 pseudogenes. Among the multiple Oct4 transcripts characterized here is a approximately 1 kb clone derived from P19 embryonal carcinoma stem cells, which shares a approximately 87% sequence homology with the parent Oct4 gene, and has the potential of encoding an 80-amino acid product (designated as Oct4P1). Adenoviral expression of Oct4P1 in mesenchymal stem cells promotes their proliferation and inhibits their osteochondral differentiation. These dual effects of Oct4P1 are reminiscent of the stem cell regulatory function of the parent Oct4, and suggest that Oct4P1 may be a functional pseudogene or a novel Oct4-related gene with a unique function in stem cells.
已有人提出胚胎干细胞（ES细胞）特异性基因存在多个假基因，且其数量众多表明这些潜在假基因中的一些可能具有功能。Oct4在ES细胞中的特异性表达调节干细胞的多能性和自我更新状态。尽管在基因重编程过程中已报道成年组织中有Oct4表达，但检测到的Oct4信号可能是由Oct4假基因产生的。在此鉴定的多个Oct4转录本中，有一个约1 kb的克隆来源于P19胚胎癌细胞，它与亲本Oct4基因具有约87%的序列同源性，并且有编码一个80个氨基酸产物（命名为Oct4P1）的潜力。Oct4P1在间充质干细胞中的腺病毒表达促进其增殖并抑制其向骨软骨细胞分化。Oct4P1的这些双重作用让人联想到亲本Oct4的干细胞调节功能，表明Oct4P1可能是一个功能性假基因或在干细胞中具有独特功能的新型Oct4相关基因。
