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Development of a multicellular organism from a single fertilized cell is regulated by the coordinated activity of DNA transcription factors. Oct3/4, a member of the POU family of transcription factors, functions in pluripotent cells of early embryonic stem cell (ES) lines and embryonal carcinomas (EC). Other members of the POU family include Oct1, Oct2, Pit-1, and unc-86. The POU domain, a 150-amino acid region that determines binding specificity, is conserved among these proteins and consists of 3 subdomains: POU-specific A and B subdomains and a homeobox-like subdomain. Oct3/4 is expressed in undifferentiated cells, but is lost as cells are induced to differentiate. Oct3/4 is not expressed in adult tissues. The interaction of Oct3/4 with SOX2, another embryonic transcription factor, produces an active complex that regulates expression of genes such as Nanog, UTF1, and FGF4. Although Oct3/4 is specifically phosphorylated on serine residues, this modification is not required for DNA binding, but may affect its transactivation potential. Thus, Oct3/4 is a transcription factor that plays an important role in determining early steps of embryogenesis and differentiation.
