OCT3/4 Monoclonal Antibody (EM92), eBioscience™, Invitrogen™

Description

Description: The EM92 monoclonal antibody reacts with mouse and human Oct3/4, encoded by the Pou5F1 gene. Oct3/4 is a POU domain-containing transcription factor that is critical for maintaining embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) 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 Oct3/4 expression causes dedifferentiation to trophoectoderm, whereas increased expression results in differentiation to mesoderm and primitive endoderm. Oct3/4 regulates the expression of several genes, including FGF-4, UTF1, Sox2, Fbx15, Rex1 and osteopontin through distinct mechanisms. Furthermore, Oct3/4 frequently acts synergistically with Sox2 to regulate target gene expression, as is the case with FGF-4. It has been demonstrated that Oct3/4 expression in ES cells can be negatively regulated by either treatment with retinoic acid, or by removal of leukemia-inhibitory factor (LIF). Applications Reported: This EM92 antibody has been reported for use in immunoblotting (WB). Applications Tested: This EM92 antibody has been tested by western blot analysis of F9 and P19 embryonal carcinoma cell lysates. For western blotting, this antibody can be used at a starting dilution 2 μg/mL. However, the antibody should be titrated for individual experiments. Purity: Greater than 90%, as determined by SDS-PAGE.

POU5F1, also commonly known as Oct-4, is a maternally expressed octamer-binding protein that was the first transcription factor described for the early stages of development. The role of POU5F1 in embryonic development suggested that it might be useful in the creation of stem cells that might be useful in cell replacement therapies in the treatment of several degenerative diseases. Artificial stem cells, termed induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, can be created by expressing POU5F1 and the transcription factors Sox2, Klf4 and Lin28 along with c-Myc in mouse fibroblasts. More recently, experiments have demonstrated that iPS cells could be generated using expression plasmids expressing POU5F1, Sox2, KlfF4 and c-Myc, eliminating the need for virus introduction, thereby addressing a safety concern for potential use of iPS cells in regenerative medicine.